70 Tick Tock
by ARtheBard
Summary: Who is taunting the team and why? Given hours to find a victim before they are murdered the team keeps running into frustrating dead ends. And if they aren't careful, it will be a dead end for two of them. Can they find the unsub before his deadly game is played out.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: And so here we pick up right where the last chapter of #69 left off. Who would dare taunt our dear little Penelope? But is she the endgame or just the first move in this chess game? (Cue mysterious music here.)**

**Happy New Year! And Happy Reading in this crazy little AU.**

**-AR**

* * *

Rossi and Emily show their badges to the police at the crime scene and are allowed to cross under the tape cordoning off the courtyard of Garcia's apartment. They walk up to the man who is obviously the lead detective and show their badges again.

"I'm SSA David Rossi. This is SSA Emily Prentiss."

"What the hell are you two doing here? I said I wanted that Garcia lady," he says rudely.

Rossi lifts his eyebrow. "I don't know who you asked about that but she's off the clock until tomorrow. And she's an analyst not an agent so- -"

"Analyst my ass," he interrupts. "She's my number 1 suspect and I demand you get her ass down here so I can profile her reaction to this scene. My experience tells me she'll get a fucking buzz just looking at what she's done."

Emily and Rossi exchange a look. Emily frowns at the detective.

"Do you even know why we're here? What division we are with?"

"I'm guessing computer crimes based on the sheet I ran on Penelope Garcia."

"Wrong, Detective, we're with the BAU. That would be the criminal profiling unit," Emily explains.

"And I've been profiling suspects since you were in diapers," Rossi adds. "Penelope Garcia is not a suspect but a victim." The detective's phone starts to ring. "You might want to answer that. It will be telling you it's our case, not yours."

The detective tries to stare down Rossi. Doesn't work. He grabs his phone off his hip. "Davis," he answers tersely. He listens a moment. "But, sir!" He shakes his head. "But, sir, they could be covering up and…" He sighs. "Yes, sir." He hangs up and glares at the agents. "Scene is yours. But I'll be keeping an eye on it. If it even looks like you all are covering for that analyst chick I'll run it all the way up to Director Ryder to get your asses locked up, too."

Emily's face hardens. "Go ahead. Try it."

Rossi places a steadying hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Detective Davis." He hands him a business card. "Please email your initial write up and impressions when you have a chance."

"Hmph. First impression is my last impression: Garcia staged all this. Bet we'll find the deceased is some relative or something she had a beef with. May have even dragged it across the border with them."

Emily's eyes narrow. "Border? What the Hell are you talking about?"

"Hispanic on Hispanic crime is usually either drugs or familial. Since Garcia is clean has to be familial," he concludes confidently.

Emily rolls her eyes. "Garcia is from California. Her last name is from her step-father. She's not Hispanic."

Davis colours. "Oh. Well, whatever. Sounds like her stepfather could have family that holds a grudge. Might check into what he's been doing lately."

"You know, you really ought to know at least a few facts before speaking," Rossi scolds. "Her parents were killed in a car accident when she was a teenager. So, call me crazy, but I doubt her step-father could have had many recent events that could lead to this. Now, if you'll excuse us, we'll do a real profile of the scene."

The agents turn and walk away. They feel Davis' eyes boring into their backs.

"Who pissed in his coffee and stole his donut?" Emily mutters.

Rossi gives her a slight grin. "We did. Tasty donut, too."

Emily laughs. "Twisted, old man. Very, very twisted."

They stand for a moment, just getting a feel for what the unsub had seen. A small, fenced in courtyard that would have given him slight protection from being seen. From past experience, they know the residents here are an older, quieter crowd most likely in for the evening this late on a weeknight. It was a perfect set up just like it had been when Penelope Garcia had been shot. The two agents exchange a look, knowing each had come up with the same conclusion. It really did look like something Garcia could have set up if they didn't know for sure she'd been at Quantico.

Finally they step into the courtyard, glancing at the ground to make sure nothing has been missed. As they approach the body, Emily frowns.

"Rossi, is she soaking wet?"

Rossi nods. "Yes. And not a drop of rain or ice in the sky tonight."

"So the unsub did this. Forensic countermeasure?" she suggests.

Rossi gestures to the ground. "No signs of splashing. She wasn't wet down here. If it was to counter forensics she could still have something on her from the vehicle he used to bring her here."

Emily nods. She squats down to stare at the woman. Lifeless eyes stare into the dark sky. Red streaks of blood colour her hair.

"One shot to the head. Body was sitting or lying in such a way that blood leaked down her hair," Emily notes.

"So we figure he kills her, sprays the body down so anything she picked up where she was held is washed off, rolls her in a tarp maybe then brings her here and dumps when the last light goes out?" he postulates.

Emily nods. "Sounds right." She stands and lets out a breath. "I keep going back to what you said, Rossi. This would have hurt Garcia more if she'd known the woman. What is the purpose of taking a stranger and…and taunting us the way he did? It makes no sense to me?"

"Me neither." He thinks a second then shakes his head. "I hate to say it…"

"…we'll need more bodies to figure out this fuck's endgame," Emily finishes.

"Yep."

The agents snap a few pictures of the scene then allows the forensic teams and coroner come up to process the body. After a second, one of the CSI's turns to the agents.

"Uh, I think you need to see this," he says, handing them a piece of paper in an evidence bag.

The note is short and not so sweet: _Tomorrow will be more fun for you._

Emily grunts and shakes her head. "Why do I feel like his idea of fun is very different than mine?"

Rossi hands the bag back so the note can be processed for prints and other evidence. "I second that. Thanks," he says to the tech.

The two agents watch a few more minutes but as soon as the CSI's release the body to the coroner, they know they are done here. They go back to their SUV and sit there a moment. Rossi finally breaks the silence.

"He'll have to fuck up."

Emily nods. "Yep."

"Are we 100% sure Phillipe and his lackey are dead?"

"You saw Phillipe die," Emily points out. "Our labs used DNA to confirm Walters is dead. I'm wondering…do we…could Reese have someone after us?"

Rossi shrugs. "No clue. Time to pull his visitor logs."

"Damn right."

"But we can't focus on him. He may have nothing to do with this. Let's keep an open mind," Rossi cautions.

Emily nods. "I will. I just…let's eliminate him quickly. He's not happy we discovered who he really is or, more to the point, that Garcia discovered who he is."

"True. I'll get on that when we get back. You head home and check on your wife and Garcia."

Emily sighs. "I'd argue but I was kind of hoping you'd say that," she says with a grin.

Rossi chuckles and puts the SUV in gear and aims it back to Quantico.

* * *

It is close to 4 a.m. when Emily arrives home. She may only get a couple hours here but they are definitely needed. After checking on both of her children, she goes into her bedroom. She grins.

"So predictable."

Garcia is in Emily's place on the bed. The brunette walks around and sits down behind her wife. She strokes a hand over golden locks. JJ immediately turns.

"Hey," she whispers.

"Did I wake you?"

JJ grins. "Nope. Restless tonight. Was going to move to the recliner but I didn't want to leave Pen alone."

"Ah. Good call."

"So, uh, why Pen?"

Emily shrugs. "I don't know. He left a note and with what he said at the end of the last phone call I think we are right that he is targeting the team not just Pen. But…"

JJ rolls her eyes. "…we need another body to be sure. That sucks."

Emily nods. "Big time." Emily leans over and kisses her wife then stands. "I'm going to get ready for bed. Take the recliner. I'll be there for Pen."

JJ smiles. "Deal."

When Emily comes out a few minutes later she sees JJ already getting settled in the recliner. She walks over and tucks her in with the blanket they keep on it.

"Better?"

"Yes, thanks. I love you."

"I love you, too."

They share a quick kiss then Emily crawls into bed, knowing she needs to get as much sleep as she can. It could be a long day again tomorrow…uh, later today, that is.


	2. Chapter 2

At 8 a.m. Hotch carefully studies his tired team. "Prentiss, Morgan, Garcia, stay on the current case. The rest of you, work on the opens on your desk."

"What? Why?" Rossi exclaims.

"Because for now we have nothing new to look into. That said, I want to go back over Reyes' life with a fine tooth comb to make damn sure she has no crossover with Garcia." He takes a deep breath. "If, at any time, another of us receives a call, we will turn our full attention back to the case at hand."

He sees the disappointment in all their faces. But also the resignation. The unsub had left few forensic clues so far and the phone he had used had bounced on various towers, telling them he was either mobile or had an app that masked his location. They have nothing but a body and a photo on a murder board. Reluctantly everyone but Emily, Morgan and Garcia leave the room. Hotch waits a moment longer.

"If you run into a brick wall, step away. Don't start to colour the facts to fit your opinions just to get some sort of answer," he cautions.

The three agents nod. Hotch grabs his portfolio and walks out of the room. As one the three turn to stare at the woman on the board. Morgan lets out a sigh.

"Okay, so we have no personal crossover that we can find. Let's look at what we see in front of us," he suggests.

"What do you mean?" Garcia asks.

"She's blonde, like you from a bottle," he starts.

"Light eyes," Emily notes. "And her last name, which is Hispanic in origin, is from her ex-husband though she is native to America."

Morgan frowns. "That's a scary run of similarities," he notes.

Emily nods and looks at him. "He knows Garcia."

"Whoa! What the hell do you mean he knows me? I don't know anyone capable of…of…what this bastard did!" Garcia protests.

"You're right, Baby Girl, you probably _don't_ know him. But he knows you. He picked this woman as a sort of mirror image of you."

Emily's eyes narrow. "Damn, Morgan, that's it! A mirror image! But not just physically or by name!" She grabs a folder off the table. "Garcia is a tech genius, this woman is an IT tech that works via phone solving computer issues. She's into theatre, though she concentrates on musicals. She lives alone. She even drives an older car, though that looks to be more necessity than quirk. She is the mirror image of Penelope Garcia!"

Morgan slowly nods. "Damn. We were so busy looking for a crossover or a connection we nearly missed the obvious. Good call, Prentiss."

"So, um, what does that mean?" Garcia asks.

Emily turns to Garcia. "Somewhere in your lives there is one person, a man or a woman, who knows both of you. The unsub had to know that Reyes was the perfect person to kill in lieu of killing you."

"Yeah, see, that doesn't make me feel any better about this situation," Garcia points out. "Still means there is a creepazoid out there looking to hurt people because of me and the fact that he's looking for the perfect surrogate for me just means Derek Morgan is spending the night in your bed with us in your uber safe gated community."

Emily grins. "Good thing it's a big bed."

Morgan wraps his arm around Garcia's shoulder. "Whatever you need, Baby Girl. Come on, let's start looking over these backgrounds again. Let's start with her work files which we just received. Maybe there we'll find a name familiar to you."

Garcia nods and sits down to help the two agents start to pick apart more of Reyes' life.

* * *

Around 10:15 Hotch's cell phone rings. He glances at it and sees an unknown number. He grabs his desk phone and calls Garcia.

"Garcia, trace my cell."

"Yes, sir!" she agrees quickly.

Hotch lets it ring once more before answering. "Hotchner."

"Aa-aaron Hotchner?" a scared, male voice stutters.

"Yes, this is Aaron Hotchner."

"He said…to tell you…you have until midnight to find me alive. That's all I can say." The man takes a deep breath. "BUT HE HAS A VAN AND HE GRABBED ME OUTSIDE- -UNGH!"

Hotch stiffens. He didn't even have a name yet. "Who is this? What's going on?"

The electronic voice answers. "His name is Christopher Simpson. Good luck."

The call is immediately disconnected. But Hotch had heard the anger behind the modifications. Reyes had seemed untouched but for the signs of restraint and the final bullet wound. He has a bad feeling Simpson won't be as lucky. He gets up and stomps towards the conference room.

"Garcia?"

She slaps her hands against the table. "Signal is still bouncing, sir! He knows how quickly when can triangulate the calls and just keeps bouncing the signal."

Hotch shakes his head in frustration. "Damn it. The victim is Christopher Simpson. He managed to say the unsub has a van which isn't surprising. Let's get traffic cam shots from around Garcia's place last night. Maybe we'll get lucky and see a van we can trace."

Morgan nods and makes the call that will get them those images. Garcia and Emily are already typing away, diving into the background of Christopher Simpson. Only there is a small problem.

"Sir, there are 72 Christopher Simpson's in the greater D.C. area."

Emily stands and starts to pace. "What do we know about Hotch? Okay, first things first: are any lawyers or working in the law in some way? Cops, security guards, anything."

Garcia starts to type. "Uh, okay down to 17 with any sort of link to law."

"Are any dark-haired, dark-eyed?" Morgan asks.

Garcia types some more, pulling up license photos for 7 who meet the tall dark and handsome criteria. "Got them."

"Okay, of those, which one is the most 'Hotch' to us?" Emily asks.

Garcia shoots the information up to the big screen so the agents can read it over. Morgan points to 2 of the men.

"Both were lawyers then quit and became cops. Not a usual progression."

"And a definite link to you, Hotch," Emily points out.

Hotch nods. "Agreed. Maybe we can- -"

He breaks off as Garcia squeals when her computer beeps.

"Oh my God! Not them! None of them!" she stammers.

"What do you mean, Garcia?" Hotch presses.

"We just got a missing person alert that beeped when it crossed with the search I just did. Christopher Simpson, age 42, didn't make it home from work last night. He had been a lawyer but is now a private investigator. Signs show he was probably kidnapped at his office as it is a mess."

Emily is reading over the pulled reports. "He's not up here," she notes.

"Because he's already been filtered out," Garcia says as she flashes his picture up.

"Shit. Blonde hair, light coloured eyes," Emily states.

"Blue, to be exact," Garcia replies.

Emily looks at Morgan. "Mirror image?"

Morgan slowly nods. "Could be."

"What does that mean?" Hotch asks.

"We're thinking the unsub is taking the time to find mirror images of us. Maybe the victims are mirror images of him or her?"

Hotch slowly nods. "Good idea. Keep it on the backburner for now. Let's find out who Simpson is. I'll get Reid and go see his wife. He may have felt like he was being stalked."

The others nod as Hotch turns and leaves. Garcia sighs as she starts to type.

"Does it make me a bad person that I'm glad I'm not the only one that's being targeted?"

Emily pats her on the shoulder. "Not at all, Pen. Not at all."

* * *

Hotch and Reid sit down across from Flo Simpson and her father-in-law, Ashton. The man immediately gets down to business.

"Why is the FBI looking into my son's case so quickly?" he demands to know.

Hotch folds his hands in a non-threatening manner. "The man who we believe took your son called to taunt us this morning. We're still trying to confirm that the same Christopher Simpson we were contacted about is your son."

"Who the hell else would it be?"

"There are many Christopher Simpson's in this area. We're having to check out each one however at this time your son is the only one with a missing person's report out. Can either of you tell us if he'd been concerned lately that he was being followed? Or had a case that maybe stuck with him a bit more than others?"

Flo slowly shakes her head. "No…not that I know of. He was good about leaving work at the office."

"Do you know if anyone he might have put away when he was a lawyer got out recently?" Reid asks.

She shrugs. "I just…don't know. Why was he taken? What's going on here? What the hell did that…that bastard say to you when he called?"

"The unsub challenged us to find Christopher and we are going to do our damnedest to do that," Hotch assures him. "Is there anyone we can talk to about his work? Or any concerns he may have had regarding work?"

Flo nods. "Yes, of course. His office assistant is Josh Winston. He should know if anyone had Chris concerned."

Reid texts the name to Garcia so she can figure out where to find Winston. The two agents question the distraught duo a few more minutes but it is obvious that if anyone might know something helpful it will be Josh Wilson. As soon as they get out to the SUV, Reid calls Garcia.

"Garcia, have you located Josh Winston yet?"

"Yes, boy wonder, he is at the office Simpson uses."

"Perfect. I assume the address is the text I have?"

"You would assume right."

"Thanks, Garcia." Reid disconnects and pulls up the address. "His office is in Old Town."

Hotch nods and starts the drive to Alexandra. "King Street?"

"Prince, actually. Down by the waterfront a couple blocks from the Torpedo Factory."

Hotch nods and they drive in silence until the reach the converted brownstone. When they get to the office they find a 25 year old man staring at piles of papers on his desk. The man glances up.

"We're closed today. Family emergency."

Hotch and Reid hold up their badges. "We know. We're here to help if we can," Hotch explains.

Josh Wilson drops down into his chair. "How? How can you help? What the hell is going on?"

"We're not sure. We're hoping you know someone or something that gave your boss pause for concern," Hotch explains.

Wilson shakes his head. "I don't know. I've been wracking my brain all day trying to think of something, anything that could explain this and give the police something to work with."

Reid gestures to the files scattered around. "Anything in this that appears missing?"

Wilson shrugs. "I don't know. They asked the same thing but I just can't tell yet. Unfortunately, from what I have seen, no there isn't. At least if a case file was gone or something I might understand what's happened."

Reid nods in understanding. "Had Simpson mentioned anyone that seemed to be following him? Or a potential client that seemed off in any way?"

Wilson shakes his head. "No, nothing like that. We deal a lot with insurance fraud and fraudulent workers comp claims so we piss people off but no one threatened us or anything. This just…doesn't make sense."

Hotch thinks a moment. "Did he ever tell you why he stopped being a lawyer?"

Wilson smiles proudly, reflecting on the heart of the missing man. "Yeah, he did. He got tired of prosecuting cases and jerks getting off on technicalities or his boss signing off on cherry deals. He tried criminal defense for a while but had the same distaste for himself when he started getting guys off for the same reason. He figured as an investigator he knew what laws he could break and not break and make a good buck. He was right. He's good at this job. Our clients love him."

Hotch nods. Similar reason why he left law. "Mirror image," he mutters.

Reid glances at his chief but says nothing. Wilson runs a hand through his hair.

"I know the stats about kidnapping. Does it…hold true for adults like kids? The first 24 hours are the critical hours?"

Hotch sighs. "Sadly, yes, it holds true." He offers his card to Wilson. "If you think of anything that can help us or find anything in here that could tell us who might have targeted your boss, please call me."

"Yeah, I will. Thanks for…for whatever you do for Chris. He's a good man and…and he's got a family. They need him, you know?"

Hotch nods. "I know."

The two agents go back out to their SUV. Hotch drums his fingers on the steering wheel a moment as he thinks.

"You don't know him, Hotch," Reid states, correctly guessing what his boss is doing.

"There has to be a connection! Something other than we both left the practice of law. There _has_ to be!"

"Maybe the others will have found something. Let's head back to Quantico and check in."

Hotch turns on the SUV and points it south. They make the drive in silence, each man trying to figure out a new angle to look at with this unsub.

* * *

"Where do we stand?" Hotch asks as he walks into the conference room.

Morgan takes the lead. "Christopher Simpson. Georgetown Law. After passing the bar worked in the Alexandria DA's office for 3 years. Then he left there and started his own practice as a defense lawyer. Five years ago he closed out that practice and started his private investigation firm."

"None of the men he put away or defended but lost are out," Emily continues. "We're pulling trial transcripts and speaking to cops involved with the cases to see if anyone levied a credible threat against Simpson but so far nothing is clicking."

"I spoke with a few crime beat reporters I know who would have covered those trials," JJ adds. "None of them remember any sort of outburst or outcry in the wake of any Simpson's cases. A few are double checking their notes but they are as stunned as us that Simpson was taken."

Hotch runs a hand through his hair. "So we've got two victims that don't seem to have any direct connection to us, victims that don't seem to have any threats against them. It's safe to say we're the target of the attack, not the victims. Why? What is the reason they are coming after us?"

"Since that's where this seemed to be heading, I've already started working that up," Rossi says. "Garcia has pulled information on any recently paroled convicts and convicts that have recently died. JJ and I have been weeding through them trying to find someone who might be local or have local contacts that could do something like this but so far no one has clicked."

"Damn it. Okay keep working…"

His voice trails off as his phone starts to ring. Garcia starts to type as Hotch looks at her. She looks up.

"Go, sir."

Emily moves behind Garcia to watch her computer screen as Hotch presses the answer button.

"You have been busy today," the electronic voice states. "Too bad you still have no clue what's going on here."

"You're taking people with no connection to us, no connection to each other. What sort of clues do you expect us to find?"

Emily shakes her head as she watches the red light on Garcia's computer jump all over the Metro D.C. area. This guy is good!

The voice laughs. "Sometimes you all are too conceited to see what is right in front of you. How does it feel to know those that hold your life in their hands are clueless, Christopher?"

"PLEASE! PLEASE HURRY! FIND ME! PLEASE!" Simpson begs.

"Talk to you later, Agents," the unsub taunts as he hangs up.

"DAMN!" Hotch slams his phone onto the table. "Garcia? Anything?"

She shakes her head. "Not yet."

"There's a pattern!" Emily blurts.

"A what?" Garcia asks.

"It's like that game Simon. Go back and watch the recording, Garcia. The jumps are in a pattern. Maybe if we can figure out the pattern we can pinpoint the origin."

"Good eyes, Agent Prentiss!" Garcia praises as she starts to type.

JJ and Morgan exchange a look. "Nerdling," they both say in amusement.

The others grin, appreciating the bit of humor in the frustration of the case.

* * *

Hotch stares at his phone. It is 3 minutes to midnight. The team had finally traced the origin of the calls and had raced to the old docks in D.C. as time had ticked down. Now they stare at the router sitting on an old crate, the note attached to it another taunt.

_Did you really think it would be that easy?_

"This guy knows us. He'd know Reid or Prentiss or Garcia would see that pattern and lead us here," Morgan points out. "He's closer to us than we realize."

Rossi nods. "Yes, he is." Rossi takes a deep breath. "I'm thinking he's in the FBI somehow. It's more than just having eyes on us via the cameras. This all seems too personal for that."

Emily nods. "I agree. But what the hell do we do? Investigate every agent at Quantico? We need more before we can do that. We'll lose our badges if we- -"

Her voice breaks off and everyone turns to see Hotch answer his ringing phone on speaker.

"Hotchner."

"Times up," the electronic voice states. A gunshot rings out. "Too bad. Of course, you're used to calls like this. Speak to you tomorrow."

The call ends. Everyone stares at their boss, all remembering the helpless feeling of hearing Hailey executed the same way. Just like they couldn't save Hailey, they couldn't save Christopher Simpson. Hotch turns and lets out a roar as he throws his phone across the cavernous derelict building. He storms outside, ignoring the cold wind blowing. Rossi follows him. There is nothing he can say but he won't let his protégé and friend face those feelings alone.

Morgan walks the expanse of the building and picks up the shattered remains of Hotch's phone. He walks back to see Reid and Prentiss bagging up the router so they can have it checked for prints and identifying marks. As soon as they have it all, they pack up and head back to Quantico.

As they get off the elevator on their floor, Morgan lays a hand on Hotch's shoulder. "There was nothing more we could do with what we had, Hotch."

"I'll let you know if that's ever a consolation to me," Hotch mutters as he goes to his office to get his briefcase and leave for the night.

The others exchange a look knowing this has hurt him deeply. A few minutes later Rossi's phone rings.

"Agent Rossi? I tried to call Agent Hotchner but couldn't reach him. A body was found outside his apartment building."

Rossi sighs. "We'll be there soon. Tell the police to hold the scene as it's part of an ongoing FBI investigation," he tells the switchboard operator.

"Yes, sir."

Morgan looks at Reid. "Prentiss and Rossi took last night. This one's ours, Pretty Boy."

Reid nods. Emily walks over and places her hands on JJ's shoulders.

"Time to get you home, Incubator."

JJ slaps the hands and manages a grin. "Bitch."

Emily smiles and looks at Garcia. "You with us?"

"Hells yeah!"

Rossi glances towards Hotch's office. "I'll convince Aaron to get the heck out of here, too. See you all in the morning."

The team nods. Morgan and Reid go out to the new dump site as Emily drives the ladies on the team back to Chateau Prentiss. As they go, Garcia sighs.

"What if we don't stop him before he kills 7 people? Will he start again or what?"

JJ shrugs. "We have no idea, Pen. This guy is…is…hell, I don't even know how to characterize him."

"Turn it off for now, Pen," Emily advises. "Both of you. We'll get some sleep and tomorrow we can start fresh."

"And get ready for call number 3," JJ mumbles.

"Yeah, there's that, too," Emily agrees. "Turn it off tonight. If we lose too much sleep we'll surely fail to beat this guy. Exhaustion is our enemy as much as he is."

The other two ladies nod in agreement. Soon they are turning in for the night…though this time Garcia sleeps in the guest room.


	3. Chapter 3

You could cut the tension with a knife on Wednesday morning. The team paces around the conference room knowing one of the remaining 5 is about to receive a call that will send them on a chase to save a life.

And they know that they most likely will fail once again.

"We just don't have enough information," Reid mumbles as his mind arranges and rearranges everything they know trying to find one slim link.

"I know, Pretty Boy," Morgan says, patting him on the back. "Maybe this call will give us the information that leads us…somewhere other than a body."

"Maybe," Reid shrugs.

A few minutes later everyone freezes as the phone of the genius begins to ring. Garcia drops into the seat where her computer sits and starts to type. She nods to Reid when she is ready. He takes a deep breath.

"Dr. Reid."

"My…name is…Colin Hapsworth. He said…said you have…until midnight…to find me," a young man stutters.

"Where does he have you? How did he take you?"

"He has- -UMPH!"

The electronic voice comes on. "Now, now, Dr. Reid, that is not the way this game is played. You have his name. Good luck."

The call ends. Emily turns and kicks a chair.

"Fucking signal jumping again and yes, there's a damn pattern that will lead us fucking nowhere."

Hotch nods. "Maybe so. Still, when it's isolated you and Morgan will go check it out."

Emily just grunts her acceptance of that. Garcia had been doing two things at once: tracing the bouncing signal and doing a background on Colin Hapsworth. She beams that info up onto the screen in the room.

"Colin Hapsworth, age 26," JJ starts to read. "Ah, there's the connect: 1 undergrad degree, 1 MBA, 2 doctorates."

"Mirror fucking image," Morgan says with disgust.

"Yes," JJ agrees. "He's an assistant professor of psychology at George Washington. He is also…oh, damn…working on a study on what makes criminals from good families go bad."

Rossi shakes his head. "Incredible. Look at the age he was when he started college."

"Just a year older than I was," Reid notes. The young doctor runs a hand through his unruly locks and slumps down into a seat. "And because of me, for some sin real or perceived, he could die today."

Hotch pats him on the shoulder. "Don't do that to yourself, Reid. It's not his fault he's in this predicament nor is it yours. It's our job to try to find the link to the first two victims and hope they give us the information needed to find this bastard."

"Uh, guys, take a look at Colin Hapsworth's faculty photo," Garcia points out.

The team looks and sees a blue-eyed, blonde staring out at them. Almost as one they all turn and look at JJ. She starts to shake her head.

"No way. It's not…me. It can't be! Who the fuck could it be? The only asshole with something against me is Sebastian Scout aka Mitchell Reese." She looks at Garcia. "Your research proved he hasn't had contact with anyone other than his lawyer and detectives looking to close cases linked to him." She points at the picture. "Mirror images: that's the unsub, not me! Just like the victims are us!" she insists.

"All the same, to be safe when you leave you'll have an escort home," Hotch tells her.

JJ rolls her eyes. "Fine. But it's a waste of money, Hotch."

"I'll deal with the fallout if it is." He is about to say something more when Garcia's computer beeps. "Garcia?"

"Trace is done." She zooms in on the satellite map. "Phone signal origin is a boathouse along the Potomac near Mt. Vernon."

"A private home?" Emily confirms.

"Yes." Garcia types some more. "According to records it's in foreclosure."

Emily looks at Morgan. "Perfect place to set an ambush."

Morgan nods. "Definitely."

Hotch looks at his second. "Take 4 men with you. I'll call White and have him get 4 of his best to meet you in the parking lot."

Emily and Morgan nod. They grab their go bags to change into infiltration gear. Emily in nearly ready to go when JJ appears in the locker room.

"Emily…"

Emily turns and stares at her wife. "Jen, you're right it may not be about you."

JJ steps closer. "But if it is drawing you out to this house could be a way to hurt me more than anything else could." Emily opens her arms and JJ steps into them. "Be careful. Please, Emily, be careful. I need you and our kids need you. Please, please be careful. I couldn't recover if I had to listen over the phone as you are killed like…like…"

Emily nods, her mind once again on this case thinking of Hailey Hotchner. She kisses JJ's temple. "I know, Jen. I know."

Both had seen Hotch nearly break in the aftermath of hearing Hailey killed over the phone. And both women had imagined getting that very call, that last desperate moment of life before their world is changed irrevocably. Emily leans back and stares into scared blue eyes.

"I swear to you, Jennifer Prentiss, I will be careful. I will do my fucking best to get back to you and our children," she says, her hands running over the twins. "I understand what's at stake here. I promise."

JJ pulls her down into a kiss. When it ends she pulls her close.

"I love you, Emily. Always."

"Te quiero, mi querida. Ahora y para siempre."

JJ smiles against Emily's shoulder, recognizing the words in Spanish are for her and her alone. She ends the hug and steps back.

"See you soon?"

Emily nods. "Definitely."

* * *

Forty minutes later, Morgan pulls his SUV over on the side of the long driveway to the house where the signal had originated. He and Emily get out and start to pull on their Kevlar vests. The swat members with them are also gearing up for entry. Morgan walks over to them.

"The signal is coming from the boathouse. Let's check the house out from the outside first. No need to enter if it doesn't look like it's been used by the unsub." The others nod. He points to two. "You two with Emily around to the left. The other two with me to the right. We'll meet in the middle of the back then approach the boathouse together."

As soon as everyone is in their protective gear, they perform a quick mic check. Once everyone is set, they move out. Emily has her gun ready as she follows the two men in full gear.

"_Kinda nuts all Morgan and I have is a vest and these guys are dressed to storm the Citadel_," she thinks to herself…mostly to stem her nerves.

They carefully check out the house, looking in every window they can. A layer of dust on the inside sills and the overall look of everything they can see tell them no one has been in the house in many a month. When they meet up with Morgan and his team they find that they had come to the same conclusion: the unsub hadn't wanted to risk setting off the alarm in the house.

Without even speaking, they group up and make their way towards the boathouse. When they reach it, Morgan uses hand signals to send Emily and her team one way as he and his team goes around the dock to the other side of the boathouse. Just before they get to the door, Emily's earpiece comes to life.

"Dock on this side is destroyed so the door is inaccessible. Looks recent," Morgan reports.

"As if he wanted us to use this door," Emily concludes as she looks at the men with her.

"Exactly."

Emily thinks a moment. "Hold position," she whispers to her team.

She carefully makes her way to the end of the dock, which is flush with the wall of the boatshed. She eases her head around and peers in to see what the unsub had left them. She frowns.

"Nothing," she says suspiciously.

The boat is long gone as are most of the accessories that would have hung on the walls. The router sits on top of an old life ring. From her position, she cannot tell if the door is wired or not. She keys her mic.

"Can see the router and not much else in here. But I can't tell if the door has been wired or not. I can ease around the edge of this wall and use the cross beam to work my way up to the dock."

Morgan thinks a second. "Be careful," he replies.

Emily holsters her gun then carefully swings her body around and into the boatshed. She moves as swiftly as she can towards the safety of the dock, not even breathing until she is on solid footing once more.

"Made it," she radios.

Morgan lets out a breath he had been holding.

Emily chooses her steps carefully, knowing the unsub could have done something to damage the docks. She gets to the door and quickly runs her hands all over it and the frame, assuring herself there is no wire. Her penlight carefully shines everywhere.

"Door is clear," she radios.

She opens it, hears the sound of an explosion, and then sees nothing but cold darkness as her body drops into the Potomac.


	4. Chapter 4

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Morgan screams as his team races around to the other side of the boatshed. He sees one Swat member standing there as the other one drops into the frigid water. A second later he reappears with a sputtering Emily Prentiss.

Morgan and one man grab her extended arms and pull her up onto the dock. She is shivering violently, the water under the shade of the boatshed even colder than that out on the open river.

"What…the…fuck…happ…ened?" she stutters.

"No damn clue."

The other man is helped out. Morgan looks at the dry man on Emily's team. "What the fuck?"

"She started to open the door and then boom. She was gone, the door blown open, Burtus when in after her. We didn't know if she was dead or what."

"Fuck." Morgan looks inside. "Can anyone get to that router?"

One man carefully steps around the destroyed bits of dock and manages to get the router. He tosses it to another man and eases his way out. Morgan walks over and checks the door. He finds the remains of a wire coming out of the wood.

"The mother fucker actually threaded the wire into the door frame so we wouldn't see it." He follows it down into the water. "Rigged the damn thing to blow a hole in the dock and drop someone in. He fucking knew one of us would enter from the water. He knows too damn much about us!"

He slowly turns and looks at Emily. His realization is mirrored in her eyes. Could this really be an inside job?

* * *

Hotch answers on speaker. "Go, Morgan."

"We got the router. He laid a trap and it was so well hidden it sort of worked."

Everyone in the room stiffens. "What do you mean 'sort of' worked?"

"Emily went for a swim. She's cold but okay. You know she enjoys a dip in ice cold waters," he jokes, hoping to ease the tension of everyone, especially JJ.

"Tell her I was serious about her not swimming in icy waters," JJ says. "I mean, I know the warning was a couple years ago but it stands to this day."

"S- -Sor- -ry, ba- -by," Emily stutters.

"I'll meet you in the lobby with a change of clothes and some towels," JJ says, knowing the elevation of her blood pressure won't recede until she sees Emily in person.

"Thoughts on the house, Morgan?"

"Just an empty place he had time to set up a trap. I think from this point forward anytime we discover a router we can expect a trap," Morgan replies.

"Good to know. Get back here and help us continue to weed through the lives of our 3 victims so far."

Hotch hangs up the phone and looks at his team. "He knows a lot about us."

"Too much," Rossi says.

Hotch looks at Garcia. "This unsub knows us; knows how we work. He's not someone we convicted."

"He's closer than that," Garcia concludes. "Where do I start?"

"Agents in the BAU. Are any on leave right now? That is the only way they would have time to arrange all of this."

Garcia nods and starts typing. Hotch walks out of the conference room. Time to let Straus know what they suspect.

* * *

Morgan chances a glance at his partner. "Any better?"

Emily nods. "Little."

Her lips are still tinged blue. At the scene she had pulled off her vest and her shirt and now sits in the SUV in just a sports bra and dry FBI windbreaker. She had not been happy to see there were no sweatpants in the vehicle. She is shivering but can feel her core is at least getting a little warmer with every vent possible blowing hot air on her. Once she knows she can speak without a stutter she stares out the window.

"I missed it, Morgan."

"Emily, don't do that to yourself. I barely saw it. Fucker threaded it up the frame from below. Took a lot of time and care to make sure it wouldn't be seen or felt. Not a damn thing you did that I wouldn't have done."

She sighs and pats his leg. "Thank you for saying that. You're sure?"

"Damn sure. This guy is good, Em. Too fucking good."

Emily just nods. A few minutes later he is letting her off as close to the building as he can get her. As she walks in she sees JJ is already waiting for her. JJ lifts he brow at her wife's choice of tops.

"Sexy, Prentiss," she teases.

Emily manages a grin. "Thanks. Trying to set a trend."

"Keep trying," JJ encourages with a laugh.

They head into the bathroom so Emily can change as quickly as possible. She is happy to see JJ brought her sweats, knowing they would be warmer than her slacks. As she finishes changing, she steps out and sighs.

"Jen, I'm sorry I scared you."

"Not your fault. Just…the job." She pulls her wife into a hug. "And it's a job you're damn good at. I love you."

"I love you, too. Come on, let's go see what we can find out about this fuck."

JJ nods and the two separate enough to professionally pass through the halls of work. A few minutes later they enter the conference room.

"So what do we know?" Emily asks.

"Forensics came back on the first router," Garcia starts. "Not to anyone's surprise, homemade with parts you can buy just about anywhere using directions you can find online."

"But wait a second, before we discount this consider the unsub would have had to buy a lot of these parts," Rossi points out. "I'm guessing at least 7 since we could have discovered the pattern the first time he called."

Garcia nods and starts to scan the list of parts.

"Garcia, cross the parts bought with large buys on credit card by BAU agents," Hotch orders.

Garcia types away. "Aha! Agent Sonya Petroski just made a large purchase at Home Depot in Reston."

Reid shakes his head. "Not her. She's redoing her kitchen as a comfort measure after that ugly divorce she went through."

Morgan slides a glance at the younger man. "And how exactly do you know that, Reid?"

Reid's blush is all the answer anyone needs. And they all enjoy a lighthearted chuckle at his expense. Emily punches his shoulder lightly.

"Good for you!"

"Whatever…back to the search," he mumbles in embarrassment.

Garcia shakes her head. "She's the only one with a large hardware buy."

Hotch takes a deep breath. Part of him wants to have her check everyone in the FBI but knows a net that large will pull in not only many false alarms but will also send up red flags everywhere. With nothing but a theory there is not much more he can do.

"Garcia, is there way to use the serial numbers on any of the parts to see where they were shipped? Specifically any that could be part of a recall for being defective," JJ suggests. "Manufacturers have to know where a bad batch could end up."

Garcia nods. "Sure! Let me get the information on the parts we have so far and start looking."

Hotch nods. "Good idea, JJ. Help her if she needs it."

"Yes, sir."

"The rest of you…let's keep hammering these histories. There has GOT to be something we're missing!"

Rossi shakes his head. "I don't think we are. I think this has been in the works for a long, long time and the unsub has been very careful. He made sure we couldn't even find a dry cleaner in common with these victims. That kind of planning speaks to a dark, dark mind but a very smart mind."

"So what do you suggest, Dave?"

"We profile ourselves. This man is after one of us. Possibly JJ if we just go by looks of the victim. But if we go beyond looks, it could be anything. Who in our background, either with the FBI or outside the FBI, could have this much anger in them to kill 7 innocent people just to get back at us?"

Emily huffs out a grunt. "My background alone could keep us searching for months. Could it be FBI, Interpol, someone pissed at one of my parents. We could search for a year, Rossi, and never get the right answer."

"True. But it's something we have to do," Hotch states. "I'll look into Prentiss in case any files have clearance above what you all have. The rest of you draw straws or whatever it takes to look into someone else. Whoever finishes first profiles Garcia." He looks at the tech. "Keep playing with the programs you have to find anything anywhere that could give us a hint as to who the fuck this guy is."

"I will. Maybe I can- -"

She stops speaking and everyone looks at Reid as his phone starts to ring. He nods to Garcia that is Unavailable. She types a couple things and nods back. He takes a deep breath and answers.

"Dr. Reid."

"I take it Agent Prentiss enjoyed her little swim?"

Everyone in the room stiffens. How had he known Emily went in the water?

"It was very refreshing," she answers bluntly.

The voice chuckles. "I'm sure it was. I have decided to change the rules of our game. Every time you do the something wrong it moves up the clock. You followed a false lead to the boatshed. You now have until 6 before the good professor dies. Good luck, agents."

He hangs up. Morgan rolls his neck.

"So we can't investigate without causing issues for the victim. That's fucked, Hotch."

"No, that's desperate, Morgan. Something we've done has gotten him a little rattled," Rossi points out. "No need to change the rules or the timeline unless he feels we're getting close."

"And how the hell could he think we're getting close when we don't even- -"

Reid's question breaks off as it dawns on him. The room is bugged. The unsub knows what they know as they know it. He starts to look around. As he does, it also hits the other agents what he is doing. Everyone starts to look. It takes nearly 10 minutes before JJ waves everyone over to the light switch plate. She points to the fact that it sits slightly offset from the impression on the wall. Morgan pulls out his Swiss Army knife and quickly unscrews the plate.

There it is.

Stuck to the back of the plate is a small microphone. It has even been wired into the switch so a battery would not be needed to operate it. As long as the lights in the room are on the bug is transmitting. Emily hands her partner a latex glove and he pulls it out of the wall. He then pries it open and pops out the back up battery.

"Clear," he says.

"If that's the only one," Rossi states.

"I'll get a sweeper," Morgan offers.

Hotch nods and gestures for the rest to follow him.

"For now the orders remain the same," he tells them in the middle of the bullpen. "I'm also going to have him sweep the offices of me, Rossi and Morgan to be safe. If we find anymore bugs on this floor we'll take this to a secure conference room on the Counter-Terrorism floor. Time to keep him from being a step ahead of us."

"What if he sees this as a change in the…" Reid's question breaks off as his phone rings. He sighs. "His rules." He answers. "Reid."

"You just don't learn, do you?"

"NO! PLEASE! NO! NO! NO!"

The screams are silenced by a single gunshot.

"Arrogance and conceit are killers, Agents. How many deaths does it take for you to understand that?"

The call disconnects. Hotch rubs the back of his neck, trying to ease the tension that is becoming painful.

"He probably won't dump the body until after dark. When that happens, Prentiss, Rossi go check it out." The agents nod.

"Hotch, does this mean he'll take a victim sooner?" Emily asks.

Hotch shrugs. "I don't know. So far he doesn't take one until he's dumped the other. He knows the perfect time and place to take his next victim so I doubt he will adjust his schedule for anything other than the victim doing something different." He takes a deep breath. "What I do know is we're running close to empty. All of us. After we get a call about the body we all go home and try to turn it off for the night. Reid, you can stay at my place tonight to avoid the craziness that will be around your apartment if that's where he dumps the body."

"Okay," Reid agrees, not eager to return to his home while it is part of a crime scene.

"JJ, take Garcia and Morgan home with you again. Get a ride from security if you and Garcia leave before Emily gets back or before Morgan leaves for the night."

JJ sighs, wanting to argue against that but knows it is the best way to protect the twins. "Right. Okay."

"I'll drop Emily back at your place," Rossi offers. "That way she doesn't drive home alone."

"What about you, old man?" Emily presses, not happy at the thought he'll be alone.

He blushes a little. "I've…made arrangements."

The others grin. "Hope you don't snore for the boss' sake," Emily teases, knowing Rossi is either taking Straus home or going to her place for the evening.

Hotch rolls his eyes. "Think steam train on steroids."

The others laugh as Rossi glares at his boss. "Liar."

"Okay, so, let's get to the profiles on us. Do them from your desks unless we hear they are compromised, too."

They nod and quickly decide who is going to look into who and they get busy.


	5. Chapter 5

Emily slowly shakes her head. "Dr. Reid, your background is most impressive."

Reid grins proudly. "Thank you."

Emily looks up at him curiously. "Did you really end up teaching a course you were supposed to be taking?"

Reid chuckles. "Yes. And the professor retired at the end of the semester."

Emily grins and shakes her head. Then she sobers. "Uh…wait a second. Funny, yes. But think he could have been stewing all these years?"

Reid shakes his head. "Nope. He passed away a couple years ago. And he was in his 70's when I forced his retirement so he couldn't have done all the things our unsub has done."

Emily leans forward and starts to type. "Maybe not. But let's take a look at his closest family…"

Reid slowly nods. It was a slim chance but still bears looking into.

* * *

JJ runs a hand through her hair. She had drawn the short straw and was stuck with Hotch.

"The twins will have graduated college before I finish weeding through his life," she mumbles to herself.

She stares at the number of files on the screen. She chews her lip a moment.

"_Charts. Charts always make me think better_," she tells herself.

She filters all the information first into two groups: lawyer and agent. She decides to concentrate on Agent Hotchner first. One name throws up a huge red flag.

"_Foyet. Let's make sure there's not some asshole out there looking to avenge you by attacking us all and killing a victim the same way we had to listen when…"_ she takes a deep breath, _"…when Hailey died."_

She starts to look into his visitors when he was in jail. Turns out he wasn't incarcerated long enough to get a visit from anyone, not even his lawyers. JJ thinks a second. She then goes onto the internet and Googles him.

She is disgusted by the number of "fan" sites Foyet and/or The Reaper has still active.

"People are fucking idiots," she grumbles. She shoots an email to Garcia knowing the tech will have better ways of weeding out real threats from the "fucking idiots" that are harmless.

Next, she starts to look for cases where people had levied threats against Hotch. There are enough for her to break them down into those still in prison, those out, and those dead who could have family or friends looking for revenge. She slowly shakes her head, rubbing her temple.

"Jen? Want to switch?"

JJ looks over and sees Emily studying her with concern. She sighs. "No, I drew Hotch. It's just the way it is."

"Not if it's giving you, Luc and Maddie a headache," Emily counters.

JJ smiles at her wife. "We'll be okay. If it gets too bad I will let you know. I promise."

Emily nods. "Holding you to that, Agent Jareau."

"And well you can, Agent Prentiss," JJ says with a smile.

Just that quick interaction helps settle JJ and clear her head. She dives back into the copious amounts of history Hotch has accumulated at the FBI. One thing she can say about her boss: he's a hell of an agent.

* * *

Hotch stares at the list he has received from a contact at Interpol. He slowly shakes his head. If any of these people know who Lauren Reynolds really is then there are dozens of targets on his agent's heart. And that is why he knows the current unsub isn't from her Interpol past.

"They would kill her, not play games," he concludes as he deletes the file. She is safe…for now.

He then pulls up her time as an agent in Chicago to see if someone from that time could be the one after her now. As he finishes her first year in missing persons, he frowns. She had helped to take down a cartel using a foster home to sell guns, launder money and deal drugs. More than a few of those guys are now out and all had sworn revenge.

He starts to type in their information to find out where they are and if they have the brains and ability to pull off this whole scheme. He is not surprised to see that most are still in the Chicago area and most still under investigation for the drug trade. More than a few are dead.

But one…one showed aptitude in prison for critical thinking.

Hotch sends his information to Garcia, asking her to run everything she can find on him. He starts his own search but knows it will not be done as quickly or as in depth as Garcia's. But the more he reads the more he thinks this guy would have the ability to pull all this shit off.

"But where the hell are you?" he asks the computer screen.

The man had gotten out of prison, showed up for all his parole meetings. As soon as parole ended, he disappeared. No hits on his SSN, his credit history, nothing.

"Dead or in hiding. Which is it?"

Satisfied (if frustrated) he's been able to find as much as he can at this point on this potential suspect, he moves on to another. He shakes his head. She may not have been in Chicago long but Emily sure had managed to get involved with a lot of busts. He frowns. Or had she?

"How could any agent be involved in all these cases?"

He hits a few keys and lines up all the arrests by date. He starts to chuckle.

"Hotchner, you're a fool. The majority of her 'history' is a backstop. Anyone looking into her career had to see something so the powers that be gave her a rather impressive one. Must be what caught Straus' eye. Add in the political connection and you were bound to get her attention. Someone made sure you got the assignment you wanted: the BAU. Well done…whoever it was."

Hotch starts to re-filter the history he had pulled on Emily. He eliminates the time she was with Interpol and other than the man already being checked out by Garcia no one else leaps out at him. Time to investigate her time with the BAU.

* * *

Reid is scrolling through pages and pages of computer screens immediately taking in all the red flags in Rossi's long and storied career with the FBI. And as long as Rossi has been in all had known there would be a lot…which is why the draw had been rigged by all the others. Reid had pretended not to notice but he is plotting his own revenge.

As soon as the agency flags had finished, Reid started scrolling through the people who had been vocally angry at Rossi the author for "glorifying" murder. Scarily, it wouldn't seem odd to some to hate glorifying murder enough to commit murder to stop it. Suddenly he stops the scroll.

"Simone Hannah," he says under his breath.

He starts to type. He'd seen her name before. He pulls up the appropriate file. Her husband had been a bank robber in the Pacific Northwest. Both Hotch and Rossi, not to mention Gideon, had been part of the team that tracked him and his partner down. She had sworn out an alibi for him but the agents had picked it apart. He had died in jail of an aneurism before he could stand trial. She had sued the agency and lost. She had sued the agents and it was tossed out. Everything she did to try to avenge her husband had been blocked.

"And now her son is a 24 year-old living in the DC area specializing in security systems and covert electronics. Like bugs," he mutters.

He starts to type. Does the son have a way to somehow get access to the BAU?

* * *

Morgan had swept the conference room for bugs but there were no more to be found. He had then carefully checked each desk and the offices. Nothing. He frowns. This unsub had been so sure he wouldn't be discovered he had only bugged the conference room.

"Or was that all he had time for? Damn, we don't even know when he planted the bug."

He thinks a second then sends a text to Commander White, asking him to start a careful review of security for the past week. Maybe, just maybe, they will get lucky and the bug was planted that recently. He starts back to his office then comes to a stop. He stares at the back of his partners head then turns and goes down to Garcia's office.

"Baby Girl, I need you to do something for me and I need you to keep it to yourself."

She sees the conflict in his eyes. "Uh, okay. What?"

"Run a background on Eleanor Morisini. Dig like only you can."

Garcia inhales sharply. "You don't think…I mean…"

"She was up here a lot while we were gone. Lots of chances to place that bug and not be noticed by us or anyone else. And she had a good reason to do it, too."

"But…but she's…why…?"

"Emily grew up a child of privilege. Morisini didn't. She claims she only recently found out who her father was but how do we know that for sure?"

"Damn, damn, damn," Garcia mutters as she starts to type. "I hate this. I really hate this. Emily is hiding it but she is so damn happy at the thought of having a sister…"

"I know, Garcia. I know. But the sooner we check this out the better I'll feel. We have to protect Emily, JJ and the kids."

"I know. I get that, Derek, but I hate this!"

He starts to rub her shoulders. "I know. And, Penelope, I will tell her I did this. This is on me, not on you. You were given an order and I'll tell her you did not want to follow it. This is all on me, okay?"

She lifts one hand to pat his. "Thank you. But she'll still look at me with…with disappointment. I think I can handle the anger more than the disappointment."

"I know what you mean." He leans over and kisses the top of her head. "Shoot me everything when you have it."

"I will."

He pats her on the shoulders once more then leaves. Yes, Emily will be pissed but hopefully she will quickly understand he's not second guessing her just doing what has to be done to protect the team. In his office he drops down into his chair and starts to profile a liaison turned profiler. As he stares at the computer screen it dawns on him that the unsub could be focused on JJ because of her time in front of the cameras. She was the face of the team for many years. Something this team did could have drawn his or her attention.

"Damn, Blondie, you may be more a reason for the target than we can ever imagine. I could have busted a guy but this avenger sees you on TV and that's who he blames. Need to point out that everyone needs to pay attention to cases with high media attention."

He sends out an email with that thought to the rest of the team. As he starts to scroll through info he gets a reply back from JJ.

"_Gee…you sure know how to set a girl's mind at ease."_

He grins. He knows it's her way of saying she will be even more vigilant than she had been to keep herself and her twins safe.

"Whatever works, JJ," he says as he continues to weed through information on her career at the FBI.

* * *

Rossi is an hour into his "This is Your Life, Derek Morgan" when Hotch calls him.

"Body has been found. It's not at Reid's apartment but behind a bookshop he frequents on the weekends."

"Damn. I'll get Prentiss and head out that way."

"Okay. How far are you into Morgan's career?"

"His early years with the BAU. He was a bit of a rogue, I see."

Hotch grins, remembering the young, sometimes over-eager young agent. "You have no idea. More than once I had to reprimand him for being a maverick. Wasn't easy as his way usually got us a good result it just wasn't the team way of doing things."

"Ah, the team way. I seem to remember having issues with that myself. Guess that's why I like Morgan so much."

Hotch chuckles. "Right. Get Prentiss and go, old man. Let Reid know where you are in Morgan's history and he can take over when he finishes with you."

"Yes, sir," Rossi says. He stands and grabs his coat.

He stares down into the bullpen. Yes, things were much different now than when he had helped start the unit. At times like this he can't help but wonder if a team-dynamic is a help or a hindrance. This bastard of an unsub has them all in their sights and there's not a damn thing they can do to get ahead of him until they find out why. At least when things were one profiler, maybe 2, per case you could figure out pretty quickly who wanted you dead.

"And is that really a consolation, Dave?" he asks himself as he grabs his keys and secures his gun on his hip. He walks out of his office. "Prentiss, we're up."

Emily sighs and saves her progress so far. She stands and looks over, locking eyes with JJ. "Jen, do me a favor? Get a ride home tonight? Please?"

JJ smiles. "Okay. Garcia and I will find a cute security guard or two to ferry us safely home if Morgan isn't leaving when we are."

Emily grins. "You only said 'cute' to tick me off. Didn't work, woman."

JJ giggles. "Had to try. Stay warm, honey."

"I will. I'll call you when we're done at the scene."

"And where is the scene?" Reid asks.

"Your bookshop," Rossi answers.

Reid frowns. "Why there?"

"It means more to you than your home, doesn't it?" Rossi guesses.

Reid considers that a moment then nods. "Yeah, I guess in some ways it does. Tell the owner I'm sorry."

"No way, kid. That's you admitting you've done something wrong. You've done nothing to deserve this and neither has he. Only one that should apologize is the unsub. And once we catch that bastard we'll make him do just that."

Reid gives Rossi a half grin. "Thanks, Rossi. You're right, we will."

Emily grabs her briefcase so that Rossi can drop her at home once they are done at the scene.


	6. Chapter 6

Emily and Rossi park their SUV as close as they can to the scene. They scan the area from afar to assess what the unsub saw that made this the right place to dump a body.

"The body is on the side alley. From here, no way anyone would see him posing the body," Rossi notes.

"True." They walk to the entry to the alleyway. "And from here he'd be shielded by that dumpster. Smart unsub."

"We already know that," Rossi points out.

Emily nods and the two make their way down the narrow passage, scanning the ground on the off chance the police had missed anything. Rossi groans when he sees the detective awaiting them.

"Great," Emily mutters.

Detective Nick Davis sees the agents approaching and immediately stiffens up. "So, here to tell me it's just a coincidence that one of your agents frequents this place?"

"And how do you know that?" Rossi asks.

"Because I am a detective, Agent Prentiss. I asked the owner."

Rossi rolls his eyes. "Look, kid, I don't know what kind of game you're playing but I'm Agent Rossi and you sure as hell know that. Do we need to get you called off or are you going to give us your notes and get the hell out of our crime scene?"

Emily watches, wondering if the normally mild-mannered Rossi is about to get into a fist fight with a detective. Part of her hopes so. But the more responsible side of her regretfully prevails.

"Gentleman, step off each other a moment. Detective Davis, yes, Dr. Reid frequents this bookstore. In fact, you'll find this victim has a scary number of similarities to Dr. Reid. Between you and me, there is an unsub targeting our team. Until we get dialed in on this man or woman we run the risk of more bodies showing up in areas of importance to our team." She takes a deep breath. "Help us by securing the scenes and witnesses but please let us continue to run the case. Your input will be invaluable and we will be sure your supervisors know that we couldn't solve the case without your help. Help us find this bastard, Detective. Please stop fighting against us."

Davis studies her face a moment, looks at Rossi, then back at Emily. "Okay. But my threat from before stands: I find out you're covering for an agent or someone else in the FBI and I will crush you. No one litters bodies around my city."

Emily smiles and nods. "Deal, Detective. Thank you. So, what can you tell us about this scene?"

Davis turns and looks at the body. "M.E. is guessimating T.O.D. as 4:30 p.m. give or take an hour."

Emily nods. "He's right. Closer to 4:15, actually, as he called us and executed the man while we listened."

Davis looks at her in horror. "Seriously?"

Rossi nods. "Seriously. It's a game to this fuck. And he enjoys making us feel helpless."

"Damn. I…I'm sorry for being an ass. Last thing you need is a jerk making this harder." He takes a deep breath. "So, uh, anyway, he had a note pinned to him: 3 of 7. As soon as I saw that I knew you or someone from the FBI would be showing up. I went ahead and interviewed the store owner mostly because I didn't trust you. But he saw nothing and doesn't recognize the victim as a regular."

"Yeah, he wasn't a regular here. Not even a casual shopper that we could find in his history," Rossi agrees.

"So you knew this was the victim?" Rossi nods and explains about the calls. "Damn. I thought your analyst was a sicko when I saw the first victim. Turns out I'm in over my head at the depth of the depravity of this bastard."

"Yeah, that's the fun we get on a regular basis," Emily tells him. "Anything else strike you?"

Davis shakes his head. "Single GSW looks to be cause of death. Has signs of ligatures, just like the previous victim. And he's also soaking wet like the last one."

Emily nods. "Sounds right. Mind if we have a look now?"

Davis steps back. "Go for it. I'll call my Captain and let him know it's another one of yours and that I'm cool working with you now, not against you."

Emily smiles. "Thanks."

She and Rossi walk up to the body as Davis steps away to make a call. Rossi grins at the brunette.

"Well done, kid. The Ambassador would be proud to see how much you resemble her."

Emily smirks at him. "Bite your tongue, old man."

The two study the scene but find most of what Davis had seen and deduced had held true. Emily stares at the note a moment and squats down to get a better look. Printed from a standard computer printer it is unremarkable. But she stares at the pin.

"Rossi, when you were a kid, did your mother ever pin a note to your jacket for the teacher?"

He nods, staring at the safety pin. "Yes, she did. Pretty common back then."

"Nowadays mothers call, text or email teachers. But most probably remember the pin on the shirt days from their childhood. Probably more so than men remember." She turns and looks at him. "Pretty clean kills considering the mental torture the victim is forced to endure."

He sees where she is going and thinks about it a second. He slowly shakes his head. "Don't think so, Emily. The strength to subdue the victims then dump and pose them speaks to a male. Plus men tend to be the ones to get off on the torture you mentioned. If I had to pick a gender, I'm still going with male."

Emily turns back to the victim. She weighs Rossi's points with hers and sighs. "Damn. I agree with you. But am willing to remain open it could be a woman."

"Oh, I am not saying definitively it's a man just that I'm leaning that way. Unless Garcia can figure out a way to filter that electronic voice it's still up in the air officially."

Emily nods and stands up. "Okay, so we agree we really don't know shit from this scene."

"At least nothing that can help us narrow in on a suspect pool."

"Lovely," Emily mutters sarcastically.

The two go inside to speak to the store owner and the clerk who was working when the body was dumped. Unfortunately they have no useful firsthand information and there are no cameras out in the alleyway.

The owner shrugs. "I figure if someone is desperate enough to go through the dumpster they need the trash more than the landfill does. We even put the pastries we are dumping in a box on top of the dumpster to make it easier for the homeless to get them. What loss is it to me?"

Emily smiles. "Good attitude. Thank you for your time."

The two agents leave and go out to their SUV. As they get to it, Rossi frowns.

"Did we get a damn ticket?" He pulls the piece of paper out from under a wiper. He unfolds it and stiffens, quickly looking around. "Son of a bitch…"

"Rossi?"

Rossi holds up the note. "Unsub left us a damn note. Said the more time we waste on his scenes the more people will die. We should learn from past mistakes."

Emily's eyes narrow. "Past mistakes? That's intriguing."

"Maybe. But that means the bastard was watching for us to show up." He pulls out his phone. "We need Garcia pulling street cam video and we need to see if anyone saw someone go near our SUV."

Emily nods. As Rossi calls Garcia, she goes to track down Davis so they can canvas onlookers and local businesses hoping someone saw something or a security camera somewhere caught the perpetrator on film.

Two hours later they have a grainy image of a suspect in dark clothes, including a hoody and bulky winter jacket, placing the note on the windshield. They sit in the SUV a moment, each silently running down what they know. Emily takes a deep breath.

"We've done nothing to stop the next death."

"We've done what we can," Rossi cautions her. "And we'll keep doing everything we can in hopes of stopping the death of victim 4. Don't lose hope, Emily."

She sighs. "Trying not to. Maybe I just need to get home and shower. I still smell like the Potomac."

Rossi grins. "Well, I wasn't going to say anything…Agent Stinky."

Emily laughs. "Drive, old man. Just hush up and drive."

Rossi chuckles and puts the SUV in gear to take Emily back to Chateau Prentiss for the night.

* * *

JJ rubs her temple as she glares at her computer screen. Hotch's life is littered with potential unsubs. She has already sent 8 people to Garcia for follow up and she still hasn't gotten into his prosecution days. Reid is studying his friend carefully.

"Jayje…"

She grunts. "I know, I know. I need to go home. My headache is starting to become a migraine."

"So, uh, you'll get with Garcia and see about getting a ride home?"

"I'll talk to Garcia. She can drive us home in the Lexus. We'll need it to get us all back to work tomorrow."

"True. I guess."

"Morgan still planning to stay here tonight?"

"Yeah. He'll have Garcia transfer her alerts to his computer so when he sleeps it will wake him if a hot lead pops out," Reid tells her.

"That sucks for him. But I'm glad we're not completely putting this to bed tonight." She pushes back and stands up. She quickly grabs the edge of the desk as a wave of dizziness hits. "Fuck…"

Reid is by her side in an instant. "JJ?"

"I'm…I'm fine…just…headache and lack of coffee made me dizzy. That's all."

"JJ," he says, a scolding tone in his voice.

"Spence, I promise, I'll be fine. Just need to get home, get a decent meal in me, and get some sleep."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," she assures him, patting his arm. "Let me go see how long Garcia needs."

"You could call her," he points out.

She pats her stomach. "Restroom break before going home. Just as needed as a stretch."

"Ah. Okay. Take your cell phone. If you need me, call me."

She grins and puts her cell in her pocket. "There, Mother Hen. Better?"

He nods seriously. "Yes."

JJ rolls her eyes, pats his check, then leaves to go check on how long Garcia needs before leaving. Once she knows the tech just needs 5 minutes, she goes to the bathroom to prep for the trip home. She splashes some cool water on her face and looks into the mirror.

"You look like shit, Prentiss," she scolds herself. "Take better care of yourself and the babies."

When she gets back to her desk she finds Hotch talking to Agent Anderson. Hotch turns to JJ.

"Anderson will drive you and Garcia home."

JJ shakes her head. "No, Hotch. We'll need the Lexus to get back to work tomorrow. Garcia can drive us."

"Not an option, JJ," he replies. "Agent Jackson will follow you all and bring Anderson back for his car." He lifts a hand to stop her protest. "No arguments."

JJ can see the steel in her boss' eyes and knows she won't win an argument. "Okay. Sorry, Anderson."

Anderson smiles. "No problem, JJ. Just want to help."

"_And suck up to a BAU team_," she thinks to herself. Out loud she simply says. "Great."

Ten minutes later Garcia is driving them home. The three agents chat about inconsequential things, all wanting to forget the case that has everyone on the floor hopping. Anderson carefully scans all the cars around them to see if anyone is paying undue attention to the Lexus but no one seems to be. When they reach the house, Anderson escorts both women inside.

"Well, if you all need anything give me a call. Otherwise we'll see you tomorrow."

"Thanks, Anderson. See you at the office," Garcia says.

"Yeah. Goodnight. Thanks again."

Once the other two agents are gone, Garcia looks at JJ. "You okay? You used to be so upset when you felt Hotch was coddling you."

JJ shrugs. "Okay? Well, maybe not okay but I get what's going on. Better safe than sorry for the twins."

"True. And now we're home where Super Woman Francesca can protect us until Wonder Woman Emily gets home."

JJ laughs. "Uh, sure. What you said. Come on: let's go check on the two cutest kids in the world."

The two go upstairs to see how the kids are doing and let Francesca know she can go home for the night. (Though Garcia plans to tell the ex-spy exactly what's going on in case the nanny would rather stick around to destroy any bad guy that might try to get in.)

* * *

JJ takes a sip of DuPois cider and stares out the window at the street. She sees Garcia's reflection in the window as her best friend walks into the room.

"Jayje? You okay?"

JJ smiles. "You going to ask me that every time you see me?"

"No. Just when I see you drinking cider from a wine glass which tells me you're pretending it's wine because you want a moment to forget the stress of the day."

JJ grins.

Garcia lifts a finger. "Call me a profiler and I spank you."

JJ chuckles. "Alright, alright." She takes a deep breath. "So, am I okay? Good question. We have victims that look like me, my wife was nearly blown up today, in that same moment she could have drowned or frozen to death, you, Hotch and Reid have been taunted by the unsub." She pretends to think then nods. "Hmmm…yeah, sure, peachy fucking keen. Thanks for asking."

"Yeah, you so could use real wine," Garica states. JJ lifts her cider in toast then looks back out the window. "So is Emily on her way home?"

"Not that I know of. And I'm pretty sure she'll call."

"So you are staring out the window because…?"

JJ takes a sip of wine and looks at the houses she can see in her neighborhood. She gestures with her glass. "All those people are just…living life. They don't know what we know, Pen. Terrorists, rapists, murderers, sadists…those are just words to them. They are scary movies or true TV shows. But for us…they are…they are intimate strangers. We deal with them day in and day out. Are we really surprised that one of these bastards is now focusing his hatred, his fear, his…his vengeance on us? Look at that asshat Phillipe. He got mad because we stopped him and he nearly killed us all. Only a random twist of fate kept Emily off that plane with us and gave us a chance. What if…what if we don't get that lucky this time? What if Emily living on that dock is our only luck this case?"

Garcia takes JJ by the shoulders and turns her. Bespectacled eyes stare into sad blue ones. "You listen to me and you listen good: stop getting all 'our luck has run out' on me and stop being so fatalistic. Not only is it bad for the nesters it is bad for you and the rest of us. We will only beat this bastard if we all stay positive, all believe in our skills as a team, and all hold each other up. So when you start feeling down you come see me and I will lift you and your two gorgeous little twins up. Do you hear me?"

JJ slowly smiles. She nods and pats the hands on her shoulders. "I hear you. Thanks, Pen."

"No problem, Jayje. Have to admit, Morgan gave me the same pep talk when I lost my shit earlier."

JJ laughs. "Why am I not surprised? What the heck would we do without each other?"

"Not even worth wondering about, Bestie. Now, let me get a glass of whatever DuPois Emily has chilled and I will join you at the window watching for the arrival of your princess charming."

JJ nods and turns back to the window as Garcia goes to get a glass of wine.

* * *

After canvasing neighboring businesses, talking to witnesses and swinging by the coroner's office, Rossi and Emily finally get in their SUV and point it towards Chateau Prentiss. They are silent the first few minutes, each putting all of the information they had gathered into various files in their minds. Rossi breaks the silence.

"We're missing something."

"Understatement."

Rossi grins. "This guy is able to get a bug into our conference room, he has our direct lines, yet we have nothing. We can't figure out when he placed the bug, we don't know how he got our info, but he knows us well enough to find victims we can relate to. How? How does he know that much about us?"

Emily twiddles her thumbs a moment. "He's an agent?"

"Hotch already considered that. He's confirmed the whereabouts of all the agents working at Quantico right now and Hessel's team is checking out agents on vacation."

"Good. Good." She takes a deep breath. "But it's too easy. I mean, come on, another agent? He wants us wasting time looking for an internal threat."

Rossi nods. "Hotch and I agree with that assessment. That's why Hessel's team is dealing with it instead of ours."

"What about a civilian contractor? They come by sometimes when they are working with agents or a task force. Jordan had a bunch working on some sort of info they got from Iraq just last week. They have creds for their floor only but if they weren't here to see the BAU does anyone really notice what floor their badge restricts them to?"

"Sometimes. And so many of her teams deal with profilers for consults they could have been on our floor without raising red flags with Straus or others who notice those types of things."

Emily grins. "Like Hotch or Jen."

Rossi chuckles. "Exactly."

The two travel in silence a few minutes.

"Who do you think is next?" She finally asks.

Rossi shrugs. "No clue. He started with our analyst; a non-profiler; someone easily rattled, no offense to Garcia."

"I get what you're saying."

"Then Hotch, the leader of our team. Wants to get us shaken from the top down. He then goes after Reid. He wants to prove the genius is as dumb as the rest of us."

"My thoughts exactly."

"So, who would you go after next?"

Emily thinks a second. "Morgan. He was a cop who took the next step to save the public by trying to stop these guys before they destroy lives."

"Good call. I agree." He glances at her. "He'll be pissed."

"I know. I'll be there for him."

Rossi finally pulls through the gates of the community just before midnight. As he pulls into the driveway he pats Emily on the leg.

"So, kid, turn it off for tonight. Give your kids a kiss, sing them a lullaby, then cuddle with your wife."

"And what are you going to do to turn it off?"

"Have some 30 year old Scotch and cuddle with a, as you would call her, pod person."

Emily busts out laughing. "Watch yourself. You have a lot of land she can plant brethren."

"I'll risk it," he assures her with a grin.

Emily gets out makes her way in the front door. She gives Rossi a wave from the doorway then hurries in and resets the alarm. She glances out the window to see the SUV disappearing down the street. She hangs up her coat and wearily climbs the steps. She checks on both children, tucking them in and singing them a lullaby. She then walks into the bedroom, not at all surprised to see JJ awake and watching for her.

"Hi," the brunette says.

"Hi," the blonde echoes. "Going to shower?"

"Definitely. I can still smell Eau d'Potomac on me."

JJ giggles. "Well, I wasn't going to point it out."

"Right. Be in after I smell like me again."

Fifteen minutes later Emily crawls into bed. She takes a deep, calming breath. JJ cuddles up to her. Emily smiles in contentment. She closes her eyes, exhaustion already helping her to slip into sleep.

"Em, are you trying to legally adopt Henry?"

Emily's eyes snap open. So much for sleep.

"What?!" Emily asks, staring at the woman in her arms.

"Just…something Sandra mentioned to me when we were talking about the nursery mural. You remember how when we went to France and the museum curator mentioned he could be Marquis but then I pointed out he wasn't your biological child and not adopted by you. But now he could be and Sandra said you might have started the paperwork and forgotten to tell me."

Emily's head is spinning. She is near exhausted but she knows she has to address this now or neither woman would get any sleep. She rubs her face.

"Jennifer, I know your college buddy likes to speculate on, well, everything. But I am in no way planning to adopt Henry without you and I having a long discussion about it." She looks her wife in the eyes. "I would love nothing more than to be his legal parent, not just his guardian thanks to Will's directive. I think he would make quite the handsome Marquis. But not only is that decision one we'd have to make together but I think unless something happens that necessitates it happening sooner, we should wait until he is older and has a say in it. He may want to stay a LaMontagne and that is okay by me. Or he may want to officially be a Prentiss and that is fine, too. Any decision on his future in the next few years will be made by both of us. And in the future, he'll be part of the discussion, too."

JJ sighs. "I thought that's what you'd say."

"Then why the hell listen to that busybody Sandra? This is not the first time she's fed you her imagination as fact."

JJ shrugs. "I don't know. I guess thinking about that took my mind off the unsub."

"Ah. Well, still, remind me to dunk her head in the leftover paint once she finishes the mural. Maybe then she'll remember when I tell her to keep her nose out of our lives."

JJ smiles. "I'll remind you but only if you give me the chance to film it. For the record, I would love for you to be his legal parent but I love even more that you've thought about this enough to not leap at the chance." JJ leans up and gives her a big kiss. "You are a wonderful mother, Emily Prentiss, to Henry and Rocky and will be for Maddy and Lucas, too."

Emily smiles. "Thank you for saying that. Now can I go to sleep, Mrs. Prentiss? I'm tired as shit."

JJ cuddles close again, tucking her head onto the brunette's strong shoulder. "Yes, you can sleep now. And so can I. I love you."

"I love you, too…you impressionable nutcase."

JJ just giggles. Emily smiles and closes her eyes. Leave it to her wife to ask such a left field question that Emily is able to forget the case completely and fall into a restful sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

About 9:30 the next morning the team is again diving into the backgrounds of each member trying to find the one person that pops for them. It is slow going. Morgan stands to get another cup of coffee…

…and Emily's phone starts to ring.

She glances at Rossi and nods: it's unavailable. Were they wrong about Morgan being next?

"Ready, Prentiss," Garcia says.

Emily hits the answer button. "Prentiss."

"Emily Pren- -Prentiss?"

"Yes."

"My name is…oh, God…my name is Gwen LeFleur. He says…says you have…until midnight to…to save me. PLEASE! PLEASE SAVE ME! I HAVE 2 CHILDREN AND- -"

Her voice gets muffled as the unsub stops her plea. Emily takes a deep breath, her stomach a mass of knots.

"Stay strong, Gwen. We'll find you. We'll get you home to your kids. Just stay strong for them."

There is a long pause.

"See, that's the problem with you arrogant assholes. You offer up false hope to victims and families and just can't deliver on it. Is that your usual M.O., Emily?"

There is the sound of a scream and then a gun shot. Emily stares at her phone in shock.

"Hubris kills, _Agent_ Prentiss," he says with venomous sarcasm.

The call disconnects. The room is silent but for the tapping of Garcia's fingers over her computer keys. Emily slowly looks up, her eyes locking with Hotch's.

"I…I…did I…was she…"

He shakes his head. "Don't go there, Prentiss. He was looking for a reason to stun us. You didn't kill her. That fuck killed her."

Emily gives a jerky nod. She sets her phone on the table and stands, glad her legs hold her up. She slowly walks from the room. JJ stands to follow her. Emily puts up her hand.

"I need…a minute."

The team nods and lets her go. Hotch looks at Garcia.

"Get us what you can on LeFleur. Also, try to find the router for the phone call. Maybe we can start to get a better geoprofile if we can find this one."

The team gets to work doing what they can.

In a room down the hall, Emily stares out the window but doesn't see the icy rain falling down, she doesn't see cars in the parking lot, she doesn't see trees in the distance. She sees a woman, blonde hair and blue eyes (for the unsub probably kept that the same for this victim), pleading for her life only to have it stolen from a shadowy figure with a gun.

"You couldn't have stopped that, Emily," she tells her self, leaning her forehead against the cool glass. "He has a game plan. He probably knew from the start he'd kill her immediately. And if not her someone else. So why…why did he do it?"

* * *

Back in the conference room, Rossi figures out the answer to Emily's self-imposed question.

"Did anyone else catch what he said?"

Reid nods. "He said, quote, 'See that's the problem with- -"

"No no no…not the exact words. The meaning of the words," Rossi interrupts. He leans on the table and meets everyone's eyes. "He said we give false hope to victims and families." He gestures to the backgrounds on the table. "We're not going to find this guy in these files. He won't be in any files. We need to figure out when we put out hope that we'd find a missing victim and then failed. Maybe just times when our presence seemed to give people a lift; a belief the killings would magically end just because we arrived."

"Oh my God…and that's why they are blue-eyed blondes," JJ concludes. She looks at Hotch. "He saw me give that statement of hope. I said something that led him to believe a loved one would be okay. He may not be targeting me specifically but his victims resemble me because I was the face that lied to him."

Hotch slowly nods. For the first time since Garcia received the call from Reyes things are starting to click for all of them.

"Okay new searches. Garcia forget about looking up known people that hate us. We need to find the cases where our arrival was heralded as a quick save and yet someone still died."

"Sir, with all due respect, that's a hell of a lot of cases. Probably most of your cases," the analyst points out.

"There's got to be a better way to filter them," Reid says. "JJ, do you ever remember someone saying something to you during a case? Maybe cussing you our or being condescending because you made a statement and someone still died?"

JJ shrugs and blows out a breath. "Lots of times, Spence." She looks at Hotch. "I'm going to step out a second to pace and think. I don't need distractions while I try to remember them all."

"Use my office," Morgan offers. "It used to be yours so maybe it will help trigger something."

JJ nods. "Good idea. I'll text Garcia as I remember anything."

She heads out of the room. A second later Morgan follows her. But his destination is not his office. It's a conference room down the hall where his best friend is currently beating herself up over a situation well beyond her control.

* * *

"You done beating yourself up yet?" Morgan asks quietly.

Emily sighs and lifts her head from the window. "Almost."

"Would it help if I told you what he said gave us a new angle to search?"

"The hubris thing?"

Morgan grins. "I knew that brain of yours didn't turn off. Any ideas?"

Emily turns, leaning back against the window, the chill of which is helping keep her headache at bay. "He is fixated on blue-eyed blondes because of a statement Jen made. But he blames this whole team and will do his best to torture us in the same way he felt he was tortured. He's probably in his 30's, tech savvy, and a loner. He's able to hide his fury at us and channel it into psychotic acts of revenge; most likely he probably doesn't even recognize he's breaking the law. He's an avenging angel, convinced killing those people to hurt us is justified. He's delusional and will not simply surrender when we find him. He will go down fighting."

Morgan starts to laugh and clap. "Agent Prentiss is fine and ready to kick some ass!"

Emily grins and nods. "Yes, she is." She takes a deep breath. "It just…rattled me for a minute."

"As it would have rattled anyone."

"You know, Rossi and I figured you would be next. You were a cop and then came to the FBI to do even more to save people. He may see your, for lack of a better word, failure to save his loved one as a greater affront than anyone else's. He may save you for last."

Morgan's eyebrows lift. "Damn. Hadn't thought of that. We need to go see what cases Garcia has filtered and see if JJ came up with any that really stand out in her mind."

"Yeah. He made a mistake with that statement. Let's use it to stop him even getting to victim 5."

"Damn right."

Emily pushes off the window and walks with Morgan back to the conference room. She sees Reid, Rossi and Hotch all pacing as Garcia types as fast as they can throw filters at her."

"Okay, that leaves 52 possible suspects," Garcia states as a new list pops up.

"Garcia, have you filtered for family members with access to Quantico, either as an FBI employee or a contractor?" Emily asks.

"That was the initial filter after I loaded up all the cases the team was on where JJ was media spokeswoman."

"So that eliminated any with Jordan Todd as our liaison and when Emily took over for a while," Morgan notes. "Smart filter."

"We have now filtered down to any in the immediate area. And by immediate I mean DC, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Added the last one in case JJ really is the main target and it's from something back in her high school or college days," Garcia tells the two newcomers.

Emily and Morgan start to pace just like the others. There has to be a way to narrow it down even more. Emily stops and looks at Garcia.

"Can you cross those 52 with our security files? Did any in, say, the last month or so log in to this building?"

Garcia types a bit, connecting her database to the identification capture software used by building security.

"A bit smaller. 41 people now make the list."

"We need to know what's clicked for Jen."

"She's in my office," Morgan tells her.

Emily nods and heads down the hall to her partner's office. The door is open; the office empty. A knot forms in Emily's stomach. She hurries back to the bullpen and looks in. No JJ.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," she mutters and hightails it to the bathroom.

She bursts in the door just as a toilet flushes. She leans over and lets out a sigh of relief as she sees her wife's familiar boots.

"Oh, thank God," she exhales.

"Em? That you?"

Emily smiles. "Yes. And you just gave me several new gray hairs."

JJ unlocks the stall and walks out, looking confused. "I did?"

Emily pulls her into a hug. "Yes, you did. You weren't in Morgan's office and this fuck is targeting you in a way. My heart just…and my head…damn."

JJ gives her wife a kiss and stares into her eyes. "I'm okay. So are the babies though they will start their lives grounded for the relentless pounding on my bladder."

Emily chuckles. "Poor babies."

"Poor wifey, you mean. I nearly didn't make it."

"Okay, poor wifey, too," Emily concedes and kisses her wife. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

JJ washes her hands and the two head back to the conference room. As they walk in the men and Garcia all look at the blonde expectantly.

"Well?" Hotch presses.

"I can think of two where things got ugly with the victims. The first was when we went to New Jersey thinking a pedophile had kidnapped a little boy. Turns out the boys brother killed him and the detective tried to frame the ex con."*

Emily shivers. "I remember that. Kid shoved model airplane parts down his little brother's throat."

"Yeah. Well, as the parents were getting ready to leave the mother looked at me and told me she hopes karma destroys my family the way we destroyed hers."

"Damn, JJ, you never told me that!" Hotch scolds her.

JJ shrugs. "It was just words. She never laid a hand on me. She was just a grieving mother."

"And she's got no connection that could get her on Quantico," Garcia interjects before Hotch can say anything more to JJ.

"I didn't think so but she was so upset I wanted to be sure. The next case is when we caught that cannibal down in Florida. We didn't save his last victims and because we didn't realize who he was in time he made a lot of people complicit in his crimes because he turned his victims into barbeque and fed it to the volunteers. I was putting out fires on that for weeks afterwards." She looks at Hotch. "And I think there were threats of lawsuits for over a year."**

Hotch nods. "Very true." He looks at Garcia. "Run a filter for anyone with connections to this building from that area of Florida."

Garcia types and starts that search running. "Okay, it's running."

"Any others, JJ?" Reid asks.

JJ shrugs. "To be serious, I have a bunch but none of them click for me the way those two did. Well…maybe…one other. But it's silly, really."

"What is it, JJ?"

She rolls her eyes and stretches her neck. "Dante. I got threats for weeks from his fans for ruining 'the mystique' of the vampire king."

Rossi slowly shakes his head. "I think that is too personal to you, kid. This attack is against all of us."

JJ nods. "I agree. But wanted to bring it up anyway."

Hotch runs a hand through his hair, a sign he is frustrated. "Okay, get the bios of the 41 printed out, Garcia. We need to read through everything and start eliminating them or plan to interview them."

Garcia nods and sends the profiles to the printer. Once they are out, everyone digs in, hoping to find something that will point them in the right direction.

* * *

It is just after 12:30 when Morgan's phone rings. He grabs it and looks up at the waiting eyes of Penelope Garcia.

"It's unavailable," he tells her.

She types quickly then nods at him. "Go."

He answers on speaker phone. "Morgan."

"Hey, sexy, can you get away for a quickie at lunch? I am so damn hot for you."

Everyone bursts out laughing as Morgan quickly takes the phone off speaker and nearly trips over his chair trying to get out of the room.

"Hold on, baby! Just…hold on a second," he pleads as he closes the door behind himself.

JJ shakes her head, still laughing. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I needed that."

"Here, here," Rossi agrees, lifting his coffee cup in toast.

A few minutes later Morgan walks back in, studiously avoiding everyone's eyes. As he sits down, Emily can't resist.

"So…going to lunch, stud muffin?" Everyone laughs.

Morgan blushes. "No, woman, we've got a case. I would advise you to all get back to work and concentrate on solving it."

"If you insist…Lunch Special," JJ teases.

Morgan rolls his eyes as everyone laughs once more. He grabs a profile in front of him and wisely keeps his mouth shut, lest he give them more ammunition to use against him.

* * *

At 5:45 Hotch gets the phone call they had waited all day for. He hangs up and looks at Emily.

"They found her body in an alley behind the French Embassy."

Emily lifts a brow. "Extremely risky. There are cameras all over that area not to mention someone seeing them in the heart of the work day."

"But interesting that they chose the French Embassy," Rossi notes. "Why not the British Embassy?"

"Because even though my mother is posted there and I have a townhouse in London, I value even more the serenity of my vineyard in France." She pauses a moment. "And that may be one of the most conceited-sounding statements I have ever made about myself."

Reid grins. "It _was_ quite unusual for you. The unsub must have found out about the vineyard from being here in the office."

"But it's not like we all talk about it every day," JJ points out. "He'd have to know how important it is to Emily. That takes time. No offense, honey, but you're not exactly super effusive around the office."

"Yeah. It was like pulling teeth to get her to admit she had the hots for our media liaison even after they started doing it," Garica notes as Emily and JJ blush.

"Thanks, Pen," Emily grumbles.

"He had to be around us enough to hear about the vineyard and know it means a lot to Emily," Hotch says, turning the conversation back to the case. "How have we not come across him in our research of employees and contractors?"

"Maybe we're looking at the wrong people from the cases," Morgan suggests. "Maybe he's not in our files because he was never on our radar. For instance, a brother or uncle not there when everything happens and add in his bitterness at the helplessness he felt and he turns that towards us."

"So we're stuck again. Unless he makes a mistake what chance do we have?" JJ asks as she slumps back in her chair, one hand rubbing over her stomach as if to protect her twins from her turmoil.

"We can't give up, Jen," Emily says bluntly.

JJ frowns. "I'm not giving up. I'm just…frustrated. What the hell do we do next?"

Hotch interrupts before the married couple turns irritation at the unsub into ammunition against each other. "We start by looking into the dump scene. Prentiss, Morgan you two go. Emily, you may need to use your French to speak with staffers."

"Are we even going to be allowed to try to speak to them?" she asks.

"It will be cleared by the time you get there. Go now." He looks at the others. "The rest of you, we're done for the night. Morgan, plan to stay at Chateau Prentiss tonight. For everyone else, sleeping arrangements stay the same. _No one_ is alone until this man is caught. He is not above taking one of us to use against the rest. Let's not give him that chance."

Emily looks at her wife. "Call me as soon as you and Pen are in and safe."

"I will. You two let us know when you leave Embassy Row."

Emily grins. "You'll be able to hear my sigh of relief all the way back at the house."

Everyone chuckles as they somewhat reluctantly shut the case down for the day, hoping that they will come up with an idea or that one of Garcia's runs will give them edge they need to get ahead of this man before another victim dies.

* * *

*** Episode 4x21 A Shade of Gray**

**** Episode 3x7 Lucky**


	8. Chapter 8

While Emily has a conversation with one of the diplomats working at the Embassy, Morgan follows a police officer to the back of the building to where the body was left. He carefully studies the scene from afar and shakes his head.

"Are you sure there is nothing on camera showing him dumping her?"

"Afraid not. The camera back here is malfunctioning. It's been on the fritz for a week so the Embassy doubled up patrols back here but figured since it's just the dumpsters who cares."

Morgan rolls his eyes. "In a post 9-11 world? I can name at least 3 terror groups that care."

"The French Officials told no one about the outage. They figured if it remained in house no one could use it to hurt them," the officer explains.

"And the French have tried to remain neutral in a lot of conflicts which they probably think helps them, too. How the hell did our unsub know it?"

Emily walks up, frustration in her eyes. "Because he was in a white van with stolen plates."

Morgan turns to her. "Street cams?"

Emily nods. "Yes. Garcia just called me." She gestures back to the building. "And they aren't any help. The officer that was supposed to patrol back here had skipped it because it's cold and it smells."

"Figures," Morgan mutters. "Well, let's see what we can find."

The two start towards the crime tape that keeps people from getting close to the body. Before they get there, a voice calls out to them.

"Emily? Emily Prentiss?"

Emily turns, recognizing the French accented voice. "Fuck," she mumbles so only Morgan hears. She forces a smile to her face and turns. "Monsieur LeBonne, bonjour. Comment allez-vous?"*

"I am fine. When will all this," he gestures wildly at the police presence, "be gone? It's causing problems."

"You think you have problems ask that woman's family the problems they'll have with her dead," Emily shoots back at him.

His face reddens in anger. "Watch your tone, young lady!"

"Listen you pompous ignoramus, I'm 40 years old, I'm married AND I'm an agent of the FBI. Either address me as Agent Prentiss or don't address me at all. Calling me 'young lady' to try to intimidate me just pisses me off. You may be able to speak to other women that way but you sure as hell can't talk to me that way. We will release the body and the scene as soon as we have found every bit of evidence that can possibly help us find the jackass that murdered this woman." She steps closer and lowers her voice so those around can't hear her. "And if you think for a second I forgot what you did to me 22 years ago you are sadly mistaken. So don't even _hope_ I will do anything to help you or the French Ambassador out by clearing it away sooner, you asshole."

Before he can respond she spins and catches up to Morgan. He takes one look at her and knows something bad has happened. He glances back at the man who had summoned her.

"Em? You okay?" he asks quietly.

"Fine. Let's just do this." She raises a hand before he pushes. "No, Morgan. Not now. Please."

The look in her eyes, and the timber in her voice when she says "please" tells him not to press her at this moment. But it also tells him he wouldn't mind using the portly man as a punching bag. For now he just nods.

"Okay. Let's look it over."

Emily nods and the two duck under the tape and approach the body. To no surprise, the coroner tells them she has been dead since that morning. As he rolls the body, Morgan points to a bit of paper caught in her waistband.

"What's that?"

The coroner carefully picks it up. "Looks like a receipt of some kind. It's very faded."

Morgan hands the man a crime scene bag. "Get it to the techs. Maybe they can do something to pull info off of it." He looks at Emily. "Could be from the alley here or maybe not."

Emily shrugs. "Not like we've got so many leads we can ignore anything."

The two spend an hour in the alley but it offers them no new leads. Together they interview a couple more embassy workers, though Emily is glad to see Mr. LeBonne has made himself scarce. Finally they climb in the SUV for the drive back to Virginia. Emily pulls out her phone and sends a text as Morgan drives.

_"On our way, honey. Love you."_

As she pockets her phone, she sighs and stares out the window. Morgan slides a glance at her then back to the road.

"Bad memory?"

Emily considers dodging it but figures she wants it out of her system before she gets home. "You could say that." She takes a deep breath. "It was one of my mother's gala's my freshman year at Yale. She guilted me into attending since Father wouldn't be there."

Morgan lifts a brow at the monotone voice and the use of "Father" as Emily is caught up in this memory.

"That jackass LeBonne was drunk, his wife was back in France with their newborn daughter and toddler son. He saw me slip out and followed me to the elevators. I had no idea where he was staying so thought nothing of it as he got on with me and got off on my floor."

"Oh, God, Em…" Morgan whispers.

"But when he stopped at the door to my room I asked him if there was something he needed from me." Emily grunts humorlessly. "Wrong question. Bastard pushed me into the room. Thing is, he didn't know I'd started taking self-defense classes. I broke his nose and kicked him in the groin hard enough I often wondered if I'm the reason he only has two kids. He still managed to rip my dress. Once he was gone it really hit me the fuck was planning to rape me."

"Did you tell your mother?"

Emily shakes her head. "No. She and I weren't…very cordial at the time. And she was really pissed I slipped away from the party so early. Truth is, I was planning to drink a bit of whiskey and go back. Instead I downed the bottle, called Tom and cried to him, then passed out."

"What did Tom do?"

Emily smiled. "Met me at the airport the next afternoon and let me cry some more then never said another word about it. He knew he couldn't avenge me and he knew if I ever wanted to discuss it again I would."

Morgan smiled. "You two hadn't known each other long."

"No but…we just clicked. I think until you he's the only person I ever had that kind of brotherly love thing with."

Morgan reaches over and takes Emily's hand. "I'm glad you had him back then, Emily."

"Me, too." She squeezes his hand. "And I'm glad I have you both in my life now."

"So you okay? About seeing LeBonne again?"

"I am. He won't be an issue. He knows next time he tries to get me to help him out I'll say it loud enough for everyone around to hear. It just sort of threw me to see him after the stress of this whole fucking case."

"Yeah, I think if your emotions weren't so raw he wouldn't have gotten to you tonight. I've seen you stare down the worst of the worst and it's not often I consider taking your sidearm from you."

Emily chuckles. "I can believe that. Thanks, Derek."

"Anytime, Emily."

The two make the rest of the drive in companionable silence.

* * *

Rossi is staring out over his backyard, once again not seeing the sculpted lawn shrouded in night. Instead he is running over every case he can remember where they let hubris on their behalf or even on behalf of the police influence what they told the public. A hand rubs his shoulder.

"David, you know if you don't let it go for a little while you'll miss something tomorrow." Straus turns him and stares into his eyes. "And there's a damn good chance if he takes someone tomorrow you'll be the one getting that call."

Rossi nods. "I know. I just hate that we're so far into this spree and we are no closer to him. He knows so much about us. He had to have stalked us for…for months. Maybe even years to get all this information on us. And I hate to say this but he has to work at Quantico in some capacity. There are things we just talk about at the office that he seems to know. Emily's connection to France being a big one."

"Or if, as you said, he's stalked you all, researched you all, he could know Emily's great-grandfather was French and that her grandfather spent many years in France both at the vineyard and that rustic cabin in the mountains Jean told us about," she points out.

"True. But it seems…personal. Like we interacted with this guy. His outburst at Emily was more like something he'd have said to us in person. And I just don't remember that kind of anger other than the few cases we've already cleared. What are we missing?"

"I don't know. What I do know is this unsub made a mistake by taunting your team. None of you are turning this off at night. You are working in some capacity 24/7 to bring this man down. And I do believe you all will break this case soon. You're the best damn team in the FBI for a reason," she says confidently.

Rossi stares into her eyes a moment then grins. "Maybe Emily is right…"

Straus mock frowns. "I'm _not_ a pod person. And I will deny it if you tell her I know about that description."

Rossi laughs and pulls his girlfriend closer. Maybe she wasn't a pod person but she was pretty damn good at helping him refocus his attention. The case needed to be shelved for the night. He starts to kiss along Straus' neck.

And his lady needed to be taken care of properly.

* * *

"Another one, Aunt Penny?" Henry begs.

"Yeah! 'Nother!" Rocky agrees.

Garcia grins and looks over at JJ, who rolls her eyes and nods.

"Okay, my little owl-lings, one more story."

"YAY!" both children chant.

JJ chuckles. Neither of her children look like they are anywhere close to going to sleep. Aunt Penny is just too much fun. But the blond FBI employees are relishing the happiness and innocence of the two young children so JJ doesn't push the "bed time" point.

"Okay, this next story is about a donkey," she says, turning the page in "Bedtime Stories: Old Owl's Fairy Tales for Children".

The kids cuddle close as she reads the tale helping them learn why we must always take care of animals. JJ reaches down and scratches Alaska on the head. The dog stands sentry beside her, just waiting for his cue to leap into bed with his boy. But since the little red race car is pretty full at the moment all he can do is watch from afar to make sure Henry is okay. Two stories later she finally puts her foot down.

"Aunt Penny can read more next time she visits. It's time for little boys and girls to go to bed."

"But we not kids. We owl-lings, right, Aunt Penny?" Henry insists.

"Yeah! Owl! Whoo!" Rocky chimes in.

JJ laughs. "Cute, guys. But you'll have to be owl-lings another night." She walks over and gives Henry and kiss and hug. "I love you, Henry."

"Love you, Mommy. Aunt Penny put me to bed so I can show her Daddy, 'kay?"

JJ smiles. "Okay." She lifts up her daughter. "Come on, Rock Star. Bed time."

Rocky leans over and JJ stoops so Aunt Penny can get a hug and kiss goodnight. She then leaves. Garcia looks at Henry.

"So, ready to show me Daddy?"

Henry nods. He gets out of bed to turn on the star planetarium.

"Whoa!" Garcia exclaims. "That's cool!"

Henry climbs into bed. "A'huh it is." He points to the dense area in the corner. "And up there is where Daddy and Jack's mommy watch over us. And I can talk to them stars or I can talk to the candle and then Daddy gives me a hug in my heart."

Garcia hugs him, staring up with him into the cosmos. "That is so cool, Henry. I am so glad your daddy is up there watching over you."

"Me, too." He sighs, and gets quieter. "Wish he was here, though."

She kisses him on the forehead. "I do, too. But at least you know he's not far away anytime you need to speak to him."

Henry nods, just staring up at his Daddy's star. Garcia stares up there, too, wondering if maybe a couple of those stars where her mom and stepdad staring down at her.

* * *

Emily and Morgan walk in and hear the TV on in the living room. They set their bags on the steps and go into the other room.

"Hey," Emily says as she drops down onto the couch beside her wife.

"Hey," JJ says, pulling her close. "What did you find?"

"And old nightmare and a new one. Good times."

Before JJ can question that statement, Morgan continues. "We did find a receipt stuck on the woman's clothes. It's pretty faded but the head tech thinks he can still get something off of it," he says as he sits down on the love seat with Garcia.

"Good. Maybe it will give me something to search to at least narrow in on where this big poopyhead is working."

"Hopefully," Morgan says.

"Poopyhead?" Emily asks in amusement.

"Well, I can't say what I think in case the twins hear," Garcia explains.

Emily laughs and rubs a hand over JJ's stomach. "Good point. Poopyhead is perfectly acceptable then. But I don't want to talk about the case. I just…I can't for a little while."

"Sounds good to me," JJ agrees. "Did you two eat dinner?"

"I made Princess buy me a Big Mac."

Emily chuckles. "Hence the 'special sauce' stains on his shirt. I told him he couldn't eat that and drive."

The other ladies chuckle as Morgan looks down to see he does indeed have two huge splotches of "special sauce" on his shirt.

"Damn it. I can't believe you didn't tell me about that. I thought you were my friend, Princess."

"I am. But I figured these two gorgeous blondes could use a laugh."

"Gee, thanks," Morgan grumbles as Garcia hands him a Kleenex.

"I remember a time I did a speech in a college communications class with ketchup on my pants. And let's say it wasn't in the best place for a woman to have ketchup on her pants," JJ relates with a slight blush and a grin.

"Ooo! Not good," Emily says with a chuckle.

For the next hour the four sit there and tell embarrassing stories on themselves. It is a much needed laugh to end the day. At some point, JJ had cuddled up to Emily, her head nestled on her wife's shoulder as strong arms held her tight. She sighs as her mind flips to the next day.

"So, um, who will he call next?" she asks.

"Jen, we need to turn it off."

"Probably me," Morgan answers. "But something tells me we're not going to find a link to anyone I know, anyplace I know, anything I've done. He is making sure we can't get a lead on the victim. He wants us to suffer."

"He's doing a damn good job of it," Garcia notes.

"We'll get ahead of him. Somehow. I won't settle for believing we won't," Emily avows. She kisses her wife on the head. "We will."

JJ smiles. "I love it when you get so confident."

Garcia rolls her eyes. "Uh oh, blue eyes going black." She stands and takes Morgan's hand. "We better get to bed before Blondie jumps Princess' bones."

Emily blushes as JJ just grins and winks at her best friend. Morgan stands, laughing.

"You kids get some sleep. No staying up all night like honeymooners."

"Well…maybe not _all_ night. But a good portion at least," JJ says.

"JEN! Geez…" Emily scolds, her blush brightening.

As soon as their friends are gone, Emily shakes her wife a little. "You are incorrigible, woman. No way are we having sex now with those two here and on the alert."

JJ spins to straddle her wife's lap. She gives her best pout. "Pleeeease, Emily? It will help me and the twins sleep better."

Emily grins. "Oh, bullshit."

JJ giggles. "I thought that sounded like a good reason for sex."

Emily runs her hands up and down her wife's side. She stares into beautiful blue eyes. "We don't need any reason other than we love each other. And I do love you, Jennifer Jareau Prentiss. With everything in me I love you. Sorry I got snippy with you back at the office."

JJ trails her fingers through Emily's ebony locks. "I got a bit snippy, too. That's why Hotch interrupted." Emily nods in agreement. "But I love you, too. I'm sorry about the attitude, too. And I hate to say it but we may get short with each other again depending on how things go."

"True." Emily pulls her down into a kiss. "Can I give you a pre-emptive 'I'm sorry' for when it does happen?"

JJ smiles and nods. "You can. As long as I can say it, too."

"Definitely."

"Good. I'm sorry for when I get snippy because you are being an unreasonable twit."

Emily bursts out laughing. "Uh, not quite what I meant but you're so cute I'll accept that."

JJ giggles. "Good. And I know I should have but I couldn't resist that one. Honestly, though, sorry if I get snippy with you. Just know it's fear and frustration bubbling over."

"I know."

"So, next question: What was the old nightmare you ran into out there?"

"Damn. Was hoping pregnancy hormones wiped that out of your head."

"Nope. Still right there waiting for an answer," JJ confirms.

Emily gives her a kiss then tells her about the man from her past. By the end there is fire in JJ's eyes.

"Emily, my God! You should have had him arrested for attempted rape!"

Emily nods. "I know that now. But even back then I know as a diplomat he had immunity and, well, I wasn't sure anyone would believe me; not even my mother. His word against mine and everyone knew I was the screw up daughter of the ambassador. Not exactly the best source when ruining a career and a marriage." She lifts a brow. "But I warned the bastard I remember what he did. He knows better than to press me, or the FBI for that matter, for a quick end to the investigation. He's scared I could get him in trouble if I let slip what he did to me."

"That's good for the latest victim. Still not sure what it will get us since the…hey…the video camera was out for a while. I bet the unsub disabled it! He'd have to know it was a safe place to dump a body and he had to figure they wouldn't overly care about keeping watch on garbage."

Emily nods. "Good point, Jen! We need to find out exactly when the camera went down. He may have been the one to tamper with it." She starts to stand but JJ pushes back on her shoulders.

"Tomorrow, Emily. Do it tomorrow morning."

Emily sighs. "He'll take someone else tomorrow morning, Jennifer. We need this info tonight. You go on to bed. I'll email embassy security for specifics and start searching nearby traffic cams for any sort of lead they might give us."

"Emily…"

"Another victim, Jen. Morgan, Rossi, or you are getting the next call. Do you really want to deal with that?"

JJ sighs. "No, I guess not. Try not to stay up too late," JJ says as she stands and pulls her wife up.

"I'll try."

Hand in hand the two go upstairs. Emily goes right into the office and shuts the door to start working on this new angle. JJ gets ready for bed. Once she is lying down she stares at the light under the office door until she falls into a restless sleep.

It is well past midnight when Emily stops watching grainy footage. She is so tired her eyes are starting to cross. Reluctantly she sends the information where she left off to Garcia and goes out to join her wife in bed, hoping she can shut her mind down and sleep. As soon as she is under the covers, JJ cuddles up to her, sighing happily in her sleep. Emily smiles and traces a finger down a usually sculpted cheek. Now it is a little puffy thanks to baby weight. And it makes her even more beautiful in Emily's eyes.

"I love you, sweetheart."

She kisses JJ's forehead and closes her own eyes, ordering herself to sleep so she can be well-rested and an asset to her wife and the team. It works in that she falls asleep. It doesn't work in that she has nightmares all night about phone calls leading to dead bodies…and a man from her past getting what he wanted when he jumped her in a hotel room.

* * *

***Mr. LeBonne, hello. How are you? (per Android Translator)**


	9. Chapter 9

Hotch looks around the table at his team. All have bags under their eyes and none look like they have had a decent sleep in days. In several ways this case was slowly destroying them. He takes a deep breath and gets things moving.

"So, what do we have so far?"

"A shitload of nothing," Emily grumbles.

JJ pats her leg. "I had one idea I'd like to pursue today. I'll need Garcia and maybe Reid to help."

"What is it?" Hotch asks.

"I need to review every press conference I have given, paying close attention to any in which there was a death after we gave the profile or the police leaked that there was a suspect. This unsub seems to think we said or did something that gave false hope. Maybe we can view these conferences with an eye on something that this guy misconstrued as the case being solved."

Hotch nods. "I like it. You three go get to work on that now."

JJ, Garcia and Reid quickly gather their things, all three glad to have a fresh line to tug.

"JJ?" Hotch stops them. "If you get the call this morning, keep him on the line as long as possible. Garcia start the trace, Reid call me." The three nod. "If one of us gets it, expect a call, Garcia."

"Yes, sir."

The three leave to start poring through the archives. Hotch looks at Morgan and Emily.

"What did you two come up with?"

"A brick wall of arrogance cemented with ignorance," Morgan answers. He tells about the security lapse. "So either our unsub was lucky as shit or he had a part in the security camera going down."

"With that thought in mind," Emily picks up and continues, "I contacted Embassy security for the exact time the camera went down. They would give me the day only. National security is their claim for not being more specific. Anyway, I starting searching traffic cams in that area on that day. If our unsub is the one that damaged the camera he has to be on a couple different cameras entering or exiting the alley. I watched until I was cross-eyed last night…or rather this morning. I only made it through 2 cameras from midnight to 6 a.m."

"Morgan, get with Emily and continue that search. Use your office so you won't be disturbed."

The two agents get up and head down to Morgan's office. Hotch sighs and sits back in his seat. He and Rossi stare at each other.

"They are decent ideas," Rossi notes regarding the two new searches being run.

"And probably dead ends again," Hotch says, voicing the concern for every team member. "What are we missing, Dave? What the hell have we missed? This guy has contacted us, he's left electronics behind, he's…he's totally immersed in this case and yet he's a ghost. What are we missing?"

Rossi shrugs. "I just don't know." He pauses. "Unless…unless we're looking at the wrong BAU team."

Hotch shakes his head. "Contacting Prentiss tells me this is the team he is after. Otherwise why reach out to her?"

"But he hasn't reached out to me," Rossi points out.

Hotch's eyes narrow. "That's true. But if not you- -"

Emily runs into the room. "Morgan's getting a call."

* * *

Morgan and Emily had gone to his office and quickly set up their computers. Emily sends him a link to the cameras she had pulled.

"These are the ones in the immediate vicinity of both ends of that alley. If you take the two I haven't started yet I'll continue with the ones I was looking at last night."

"Sounds good. I'll just…"

His voice trails off as his phone rings. Emily stands up as he nods. She leaves the room as she hears him answer. She texts Garcia as she makes her way to the conference room.

"Morgan."

"My name…please don't hurt me…my name is Antonio Wilson. He says you have until 3 p.m. to find me or…or…please, Agent Morgan, please find me! Please!" the man begs.

"You hang on, man. We're already looking for you, Antonio. I promise you we will not rest until we have you back safe with your family."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Agent Morgan. Antonio is a smart man. He can see the blood here. He can tell your words are lies. His family won't be surprised to get home today and find he is dead. They'll know you failed him just as you have failed so many before him."

"Look, coward, why don't you take your anger out on us directly!" Morgan challenges.

"No! No, I like doing it this way. You will feel the pain I felt when I could do nothing to save my girl! Three p.m., Agent Morgan. Tick tock."

The man disconnects the call. Morgan races out of his office straight towards Garcia's lair. He walks in to see her trying to narrow in on the router the unsub had used. He sees Emily writing key words up on a dry erase board.

"You all heard the time frame?"

JJ nods. "Yeah. He knocked 9 hours off it to start. What happens when we piss him off by investigating?"

Morgan shrugs. "I don't know. I do know we can't change the way we look into any leads. If we start playing the game differently we'll never catch him."

"Agreed," Hotch says from his place behind JJ. "Morgan, Emily get back on the traffic cams. JJ continue to look into your past conferences. Reid, work with Garcia on the pertinents of Wilson's life. Rossi, you and I will go check out the router location."

Twenty minutes later the unit chief and his mentor are on their way to a location in Arlington. Based on property records it is an empty home repossessed by the bank. But the agents are taking nothing for granted. Commander White is sending a team with them and that team will make entry to clear the building before Hotch and Rossi enter. A bomb sniffing dog is part of the advance team to avoid any surprises such as Emily had run into.

* * *

JJ is staring at herself pregnant with Henry, terrified about Emily and Reid, and talking down the child abuse allegations against Benjamin Cyrus. She is surprised to see not even she can tell she had just listened to Emily take a beating to avoid Reid being killed.

"Damn…I really was good at the job," she mumbles.

She makes a few notes about the case and her statement. Cyrus had, in fact, being abusing underage girls. And sadly, many people died in the compound because they refused to leave or left too late and were caught in the blast debris. This could very well be the case that the unsub is angry about. Just about everything JJ had said to the press had been a lie to keep the agents and the non-diehards safe until they could be rescued. She thinks about this case in relation to the unsub.

"_If he's related to anyone that died…wait a second…he wasn't related to someone, he was in love with someone! He said something about being unable to save his girl_." JJ slides over to another computer. "Garcia, the Cyrus case: we need any female who died in there that was single. He couldn't save 'his girl' so it's possible he had left the commune or simply couldn't get her to leave."

"Ooo! And before he gets the chance to get her out, we show up, all hell breaks loose, and she dies!" Garcia says as she types. "Okay, 7 women died in the blast, 3 died later at the hospital…" she types some more. "And 6 of them were single at the time of the incident."

"Okay. Get me next of kin current contact information. I need to make some calls to see if anyone knows of a bitter ex."

"On it, Jayje. Will have it to you ASAP."

JJ nods and turns back to the screen showing her younger self. It seemed like so long ago. She rubs her stomach and can't help but grin: everything old is new again.

* * *

Hotch and Rossi pace impatiently as the bomb tech and the SWAT team clear the house. They do a very thorough job which is great but the agents hate the lost time since the unsub shortened the clock for this victim. Hotch is almost thankful for the distraction when his phone rings.

"Hotchner."

"Agent Hotchner, this is Andrea Palmer in ballistics. I did the reconstruction of the bomb that nearly killed Agent Prentiss."

"Yes, what can you tell me?"

"I can tell you she didn't set the bomb off as originally believed. The wire that was threaded up the doorframe and out the top was actually a short-range antennae."

"Short range?"

"Very short range. Sir, your unsub was most likely in the house watching the boatshed. My guess is the second floor window facing the shed. He set that bomb off when he wanted it to do."

Hotch shakes his head. "NO! No, the agents were sure he wasn't in the house."

"I've run the probabilities, sir. That's the only place on land he could have been."

Hotch's eyes narrow. "On land…what about if he was on the Potomac?"

"Possible. He'd have been where they could see him, that's for sure. He couldn't have been more than 50 yards away."

"So either concealed in the brush along the banks or actually out on the water. And in all the confusion after the explosion he just disappeared. Son of a bitch."

"Pretty much. I'll send your team the full report including the radius showing where he'd have to be to set the bomb off."

"Good. Thanks for your help, Palmer." Hotch hangs up and looks at Commander White. "White, did your men have on personal cameras the day they helped Morgan and Prentiss?"

White nods. "Yes. Standard fare nowadays."

"Good. We'll need copies of what they recorded. The unsub either managed to get into the house and leave no sign of entry or he was on the river. We need to see what was around when that shed blew up."

White pulls out his phone. "I'll have the film sent to your analyst and have a couple of my guys start to go over it immediately to see what they can see."

Hotch nods. "Good."

Rossi glances at his boss. "Remind me to say a benediction that those cameras picked up something."

"Say a good one," Hotch encourages.

White turns back to Hotch. "Just got the word. Place is clear except for the router sitting in the fireplace."

Hotch and Rossi make their way into the house. They quickly clear the entire place themselves before moving into the living room and staring at the router taunting them from the fireplace.

"So, this guy sets a bomb to blow up a boatshed. What are the odds he just set that router there with no tricks?" Rossi asks.

"Slim to none," Hotch replies. "Stay here."

Rossi reluctantly obeys the order as Hotch approaches the fireplace alone. Pulling out his maglight he carefully shines it all over the soot-darkened recess. It is on his second trip that he sees the shimmer. He leans forward and confirms.

"Trip wire," he says over his shoulder.

Rossi walks up and taps Hotch on the shoulder. Hotch gets out of the way, knowing things Rossi learned in Vietnam are still helpful today. The older agent uses his own light to study the line. He leans his head into the fireplace and looks up the flue.

"Some sort of box up there. If the bomb dog didn't detect explosives it could be incendiary. Good chance it would ignite and rain fire down before your arms would be out with the device. Even if it was out before it spread from your arm you'd be laid up for a few days at least."

"Damn. So how do we get it out of there?"

"Call White and have him send the bomb tech back in. We'll see what he thinks."

It takes nearly an hour and a half for them to safely extract the router from the fireplace. As Rossi suspected, gas was in the box and would have ignited if the router had simply been removed. The unsub was going to be very unhappy this trick failed.

Hotch sighs. "The newest victim may lose time due to this."

Rossi nods. "I know. Let's hope to hell having this router will help Garcia narrow in on where the bastard got the parts for it."

Hotch bags the router and the two agents hurry back to Quantico so any evidence left on the small machine can be pulled and they can possibly take a step closer to discovering their unsub.

* * *

"DAMN IT!" JJ shouts in frustration and throws her portfolio across the room. "NOTHING! Not a damn person associated with the women who died in that fucking compound is now in the DC area nor are they unaccounted for where they live and work." She rubs her temple. "I was so sure…"

Reid walks over and starts to rub her shoulders. "It was a good angle, JJ. And one that can be used on other cases. It wasn't this case but it could be the next one."

"Or maybe not. Or not anything we see as hubris at all! We don't know what the fuck we're looking for, Spence. We're shooting in the dark at shadows and I'm fucking tired of it. I fucking hate the feeling of…of helplessness."

She quickly stands. "I need to take a break. My blood pressure is too damn high right now. I need to rest and try to bring it down."

"The couch in Rossi's office. He gets fewer phone calls than Hotch," Garcia suggests.

"Good plan. See you all in about an hour."

JJ walks out of the room and starts down towards the bullpen. She suddenly sways on her feet as her vision seems to waver.

"Fuck…b.p. more fucked than I realized," she mumbles.

She detours to the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face and wet a couple of paper towels to take with her. As she walks out she runs into Emily, who looks scared. JJ chuckles.

"Pen called you?"

"Spencer," Emily corrects.

"I got a bit dizzy just now. It's pretty damn high, Em," JJ admits.

Emily wraps her arm around JJ's shoulder and escorts her to Rossi's office. She then goes to JJ's desk and gets the blood pressure cuff. A few minutes later she runs a hand through JJ's hair.

"Not red zone but damn close. Jen…are you…should you…"

"Don't send me home yet, Em. Please. Let me rest an hour or so. If it's still too high then I'll go home. I swear."

"Are you sure the nesters are okay?"

JJ smiles and strokes Emily's cheeks. "They are. I promise." She takes Emily's hand and places it on her stomach.

Emily smiles as she feels the subtle movements of the babies. "Okay, they don't seem riled up."

"Nope. If that changes or I start feeling worse I will call you. I promise."

Emily leans forward and kisses her wife's forehead. "You better, Mrs. Prentiss. I love you and our babies so much."

"We love you, too."

Emily grudgingly stands. She would rather stay by her wife's side but knows stopping the unsub before JJ gets the call that has haunted most of the team so far would go a long way towards keeping her wife's blood pressure down. At the door she pauses and looks back. JJ smiles at her.

"I'll be okay, Emily. I promise," she reiterates.

Emily nods once more then closes the door to leave her wife in darkness. JJ takes a deep breath and concentrates on relaxing, going into a meditative state to make her body a better host for Lucas and Madison.

* * *

Emily drops down into her chair across from Morgan. He studies her a moment.

"She okay?"

"She will be. Not the worst spike she's had but still worrisome. I'll check with her again in an hour. So let's do what we can to find a solid lead on this bastard."

Morgan nods. "Can do. Look at this." He turns his computer. "Guy parks a van with a bakery logo on the side of it and goes down the alley. He's gone 15 minutes then comes back and drives off. Now, maybe he was doing something crazy like going to the bathroom but since that bakery doesn't exist I think he may have been disabling the camera."

"Damn. Good job. Did you call that phone number under the logo?"

"Yep. Listen." He puts his desk phone on speaker and hits redial.

"Ambassade Francaise," a woman answers.

"Sorry, wrong number," Morgan says as he disconnects. "She probably figures I am persistent since I've now called 3 times."

Emily grins. "She sounds cute at least."

Morgan chuckles. "True. So this guy is our unsub, isn't he?"

"I believe so. No clear look at his face. Let's see if we can track him via traffic cams through the city."

Morgan nods and the two get back to work, a stirring of excitement in them as they think they may finally have a viable lead.

* * *

"I GOT HIM!" Reid exclaims about an hour later, startling Garcia.

"Who?" she questions testily.

"The unsub! I've been looking at the film sent down by White's team. There's a boat out on the water. Look," he zooms in on the image. "Fishing poles."

"Uh, Reid, people fish the Potomac…as disgusting as that may sound to normal humans."

"Poles but no lines in the water. Why set them up if you're not going to cast them?"

Garcia shrugs. "Maybe they are secured there like that for transport or something. Uh…what is he doing?"

"He's lifted a remote control. Watch."

Reid lines up two images with the same time stamp. Garcia watches as the man on the boat holds up the small box and grins. On the other screen the door and part of the platform of the boatshed are blown into splinters and you can just make out Emily dropping into the water.

"Whoa."

"Yeah. Take over, Garcia. Can you get enough of his face to get into facial recognition? I'll try to hunt down the boat."

"Right."

The two switch positions. Garcia immediately gets working on what she needs. Reid looks at the various screen shots and all the scrolling data on the monitor Garcia had been using and frowns.

"Uh…maybe…"

"Forget it, Dr. of the Dark Ages. I'll get the boat search running, too."

Reid sighs in relief. "Good. I'll go let the others know what we've found."

"And check on Jayje?"

Reid grins. "Definitely."

* * *

JJ's eyes open when light from the doorway falls across her face. Though she is but a shadowy silhouette JJ recognizes her visitor immediately.

"I feel better."

Emily closes the door and walks over to the couch. "Are you sure?" She kneels down beside her wife, studying blue eyes by the light filtering through the window blinds. "For the babies, Jen, are you sure?"

JJ smiles and takes Emily's hand. "Yes, I am. I swear. Check me if you must."

Emily grins. "I must."

She grabs the blood pressure cuff and checks her wife out. She smiles as she sees JJ really is back down to safe levels.

"Well, either the sphygmomanometer is broken or you are better, my love."

JJ starts to giggle. "Couldn't just say 'blood pressure cuff', my favorite nerdling?"

"I like to impress you with my big words," Emily admits with a smile.

"Well, that did indeed impress me. But it's not just your big words that impress me. Other big things impress me, too," she says seductively, squeezing Emily's fingers.

Emily gives her quick peck on the lips. "Good to know. But since Hotch and Rossi are on their way up here you'll have to get a dose of those big things later."

JJ groans. "Damn. Wanted to fulfill a fantasy in Rossi's office."

Emily laughs. "Hopefully it's only me you want to experience that with."

JJ shrugs coyly. "Sure. Probably."

Emily leans over and gives her a kiss. "Incorrigible, Mrs. Prentiss. Naughty and incorrigible."

"Always," JJ agrees. She sits up, glad that she doesn't get dizzy. "Guess it's time to turn on Agent Jareau again."

"Yes, it is. Promise me, Jen…"

JJ's hands cradle her wife's face. "I promise if I start feeling bad I will call it a day. I swear."

The share another quick kiss. "Thank you, sweetheart. Come on: I'll fill you in as we walk."

As they make their way first to the bathroom then to the conference room Emily fills JJ in on the boatshed bomb, the boat, the router in the fireplace, and the bakery van.

"Damn! You all have been busy the last hour."

Emily blushes. "Um, did you look at your watch?"

JJ frowns and checks. "TWO HOURS! Shit! There's too much to do- -"

Emily grabs her wife's hands. "Stop! Don't get worked up again. We had things handled. If we'd needed extra eyes one of us would have come for you. I swear. Right now we're recapping the day and…well…I guess I didn't mention…Morgan got the last call."

JJ stops. "When?"

"About an hour ago. Unsub was pissed his booby trap didn't work. Now we're just waiting to see where the body gets dumped."

"Shit. Shit. Double shit. Fuck."

"Yeah, that pretty much sums up what we all felt when we heard the man die."

"Morgan okay?"

Emily nods. "Shaken at first but getting better. He'll be solid when get the chance to take this fuck down."

"Yeah." JJ takes a deep breath. "Two of us left…"

Emily looks at her wife. "Will you let me answer?"

"No. He may see that as cheating."

"Shit. Good point. I'm sorry you'll have to take that call, Jen."

JJ shrugs and gives a wry smile. "Me, too."

* * *

Hotch studies the haunted looks in the eyes of the 6 people around the table. He knows it is probably mirrored on his face. He takes a deep breath.

"Garcia, serial numbers and other identifiers on the router will be sent to you soon. See if helps you in…in some way get a handle on this guy."

Garcia nods. "Yes, sir. If I can trace the parts to the same store as the other we can maybe believe that is his neighborhood. If he bought them somewhere else I can compare credit card statements at both locations to see if any match."

"Good idea. Prentiss, Morgan, where are you with the van driver."

"No where. He drives into a public garage, parks and the van is still there. Our techs are towing it here to go over with a fine tooth comb but their first impression is nothing is in there other than maybe finger prints," Morgan answers.

"What about shots of the driver?" Rossi asks.

"He managed to park in a security camera blind spot," Emily explains. "We're now searching cameras everywhere in the lot and building but we don't know if he had another vehicle or even just a change of clothes stashed there. We're doing our best to find him," she assures the team.

"Okay. The fisherman?" Hotch continues, looking at Reid.

"No surprise but the boat was stolen. So far it hasn't turned up yet. He may have sunk it or just put it where it doesn't go. Until someone stumbles upon it we may not get a chance to check it out."

"Garcia? Good shot of his face?"

"I'm still trying to get a composite of his face built to run through facial recognition. If I can piece together enough angles we should have a very good comparison if he is in a database somewhere," Garcia answers.

"Very good." Hotch takes a deep breath. "As you can imagine, there is pressure coming down to pull us from this case. So far Straus has been able to convince the powers that be that to do so would constitute 'cheating' in the eyes of this unsub. However, if we don't show progress by the end of the weekend we will be pulled from the case and all put on leave until it is solved."

"Whoa! That's not right! That could make us targets!" Morgan points out angrily.

Hotch nods. "I agree. We'll deal with that if it comes to it. I know it may not feel like it, but we're getting closer. The van, the boat, the routers…they hold clues that will help us find this bastard and shut him down. To that end, Prentiss, JJ, I'm sending you two home. Morgan, Garcia go with them. You can work some from there but more importantly, relax some for the evening. We need to clear our heads so when the searches Garcia is running start to hit for us we'll be able to chase them down properly." He looks at the other two team members. "Reid, Rossi, when we get the call about the dump site we'll be responding. Reid, you and I will then stay at Rossi's house tonight."

"Oh, of course, that's fine. Thanks for asking," Rossi snarks, making everyone grin.

"You won't even know we're there, old man," Hotch assures him. "But with Straus out of town this weekend this is the way to keep you from being alone. Security system or not, no one stays alone. He has stalked us and he's starting to run out of team members to call with a mirror image of ourselves. He may next try to take one of us. Let's not make it easy for him."

The team agrees and starts to finish up what they can and get things together to take wherever they are going so they can work some more tonight. Maybe…maybe they will finally figure out who this bastard is and where he can be found before another victim dies.


	10. Chapter 10

At Chateau Prentiss, the four agents had taken time to greet the kids and Francesca before going upstairs to change for dinner. In their bedroom, JJ looks at Emily.

"I'm scared," she says quietly.

Emily turns and walks over to her. She pulls her into her arms and stares into sky blue eyes. "Jennifer, if you mean the twins, you three are okay. Your b.p. has been fine each time we checked it after the initial scare. If you mean the unsub, well," she strokes a hand through silky blonde hair, "we're doing everything we can to catch up to him. Hotch is right: he's left us enough clues we just have to put them in order and use them to nab him."

"Yeah, I get both of those things. But…but what if…"

Emily gives her a gentle kiss. "No 'what if's', sweetheart. We will stop him and send his ass to jail for a long, long time. Or possibly send him to Death Row. He's not Reese, honey," she adds, getting to the heart of JJ's fear.

JJ wraps her arms around her wife and pulls her close. "But it feels like it did then," she whispers. "We didn't know when he would show up. And then he did and Morgan was gone and we were…were…helpless. Then you were…" she shudders. "It just has that same hopeless feeling all over again. I hate it. I hate _him_!"

Emily knows the "him" JJ is referring to is Reese, not the current unsub. The bastard has made her doubt herself on several occasions even though she always comes out on top. The only time he came close to beating the team was nearly killing Morgan and Emily in the ambulance. Emily eases back and stares into JJ's eyes.

"He can't hurt you ever again, Jennifer."

"If he gets out he can. If he escapes. If he- -"

"He won't, Jennifer. No judge will release him and no prison will misjudge him. They know what he is and what he's capable of. He targeted LEOs and that's something no one will forget. He won't escape, Jennifer. And you won't ever have to see his face in person until you are sitting on a witness stand helping to fry his ass."

JJ lets out a shaky breath. "I dreamt…this unsub was a puppet."

"He's not. This guy is targeting us for his own vendetta. Reese would have come right at us, not hidden behind phone calls and copies of us as victims. Reese would want us to know he is pulling strings from afar. He's not, Jennifer. He's _not_!" Emily stresses.

JJ stares into confident brown eyes a moment. She pulls Emily into a tight hug once more. "Thank you."

Emily kisses her wife's temple. "No need to thank me, Jen. I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you, too." She takes a deep breath and ends the hug. "We better hurry up and get downstairs before Morgan and Garcia start speculating why we're taking so long."

Emily smiles and wipes a single stray tear from JJ's cheek. "Good point."

They share a quick kiss then change and go down to join their friends, their nanny and the two cutest kids in the world for dinner.

"Hotchner," Hotch answers his phone.

* * *

"Detective Davis," is the reply. "They found him. In the back of Restoration Hardware in Alexandria."

"Virginia? How do you have the call?"

Davis chuckles. "I don't. Just saw the alert come across. Might want to get out there as the locals are claiming it for themselves and I have a bad feeling a leak about a serial killer will be the headline on the evening news."

"Son of a bitch," Hotch mutters. "Thanks for the heads up."

"No problem. Good luck, Hotchner."

"Thanks." Hotch hangs up and tells the other two what's going on.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Rossi mutters.

"Let's go and see things before they release the body and we lose any possible leads," Hotch orders.

Within 5 minutes they are driving out of Quantico, lights and sirens going, on their way to see the scene where their latest victim was dropped.

"Why so long?"

"What, Reid?"

"Why does he wait so long to dump the bodies? He's putting them in places they aren't easily seen. And the time doesn't guarantee him fewer people around because he's dumping them in relatively popular areas. He doesn't drain them so it's not a countermeasure in that respect. He has scoped out the dump sites as they are part of our lives and yet he's not- -"

"A job. Bastard has a job that keeps him from dumping right away," Rossi interrupts. He turns and looks at Reid. "Reid, in the coroner's report, what were times of death?"

Reid scans the information in his head. His eyes widen as he realizes they missed something huge. "They were all killed around the same time! He abducts them, makes the initial call, then kills them! Except the first one," he remembers, frowning.

"Could have been his day off. I think if we really look at his pattern we'll find someone who works overnights and dumps the bodies on his way to work. He just has to tape the victim's reaction to the execution then play that for us." Rossi looks at Hotch.

Hotch slowly shakes his head. "But the body temps taken on scene show T.O.D.'s around the time we got the calls. How could he have killed them early and keep the…heaters." He slams his wrist into the steering wheel. "He keeps them on something warm to screw up the time of death on scene. He checks, if they are too hot he douses them in water to cool them off some. That's why the victims were soaking wet!"

"That would explain it," Rossi agrees. He thinks a second. "I know Morgan swept that conference room but the unsub is still listening in on us. Garcia needs to check our computers, our phones, everything. He's still instep with us somehow."

Hotch considers that a moment. It does seem rather odd that the unsub knows when to accuse them of cheating, when to suddenly call and disrupt what they are planning to do. It doesn't seem right unless he's still bugging the conference room.

"I want the room swept again. Make sure it's not the same guy that helped Morgan the first time. We'll come back and do that tonight. All 3 of us will watch to make sure it's above board."

The other two nod their agreement. The rest of the trip is made in silence as they contemplate this new train of thought. As they pull up at the scene, the lead detective points at them and barks an order at a patrol cop.

"KEEP THEM OUT OF HERE!"

Hotch frowns and holds up his badge. "SSA Aaron Hotchner. This is our scene," he states as he ducks under the crime scene tape.

The officer grabs his arm. "Wait a second!"

Hotch pulls away. "No." He storms up to the detective. "I know you received the BOLO and I know you tried to hijack this case. I also know one of your officers, or maybe you yourself, leaked classified information to the press. Get off my crime scene now or plan to be demoted to junk yard security guard by morning."

The detectives face reddens and he bows up at Hotch. "BACK OFF! Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"As I said before, SSA Aaron Hotchner. This is our scene. Step out and keep your mouth shut about what you've seen or not only will I get your ass fired I will arrest you for obstruction of justice."

"You pompous sack of shit! I'd punch your fucking lights out but I don't want my hand smelling like dung!"

Reid and Rossi watch from afar with the very uncomfortable patrol officer. Poor guy looks like he wants to be anywhere but there at the scene witnessing this confrontation. The two agents are just amused. And also impressed to see Hotch so vigorously defending their investigation.

"Last chance," Hotch says emotionlessly.

"Get out, asshole, this is my- -"

"MILLER! What are you doing? I know you were at the briefing about the alert from the FBI."

Hotch turns, glad to see Detective Dan Hazel walking up to them. Hazel extends his hand to Hotch.

"Good to see you, Hotch."

"You, too, Dan. But can you get this asshole off my crime scene," Hotch asks.

"I sure can." Hazel turns to the other detective, who works under him. "Miller, you're off this scene. And plan to spend a day in a seminar on inter-agency cooperation. It seems you forgot how that works."

Miller practically growls in frustration. "Fine, sir. But I still think it's crazy the Feds are muscling in on a death in Virginia. This should be ours!"

"The victim has struck interstate. He's ours," Hotch points out.

"Hmph. So you say," Miller grunts.

"Miller. Go. Now. Or plan to get fitted for a new patrol uniform," Hazel threatens.

Miller sneers but turns and stomps off without another word. Hazel turns to Hotch. "FBI turned him down. He's not a fan of yours."

"Ah. Rumour is he already spoke to the media. Not much just a tantalizing little leak."

"I'll get our spokeswoman to counteract what he's said. Good luck, Hotch."

"Thanks, Dan. For everything."

The two shake hands as Hazel leaves the scene to the FBI. Hotch, Reid and Rossi approach the body. Hotch slowly shakes his head.

"Soaking wet…"

"Just like the others," Rossi agrees.

Reid walks up to the coroner and squats down beside her. "What does temp say about T.O.D.?"

The coroner lifts up the thermometer. "Good timing. According to this death was less than an hour ago."

Reid turns and confirms the other two agents had heard. He looks back at the coroner. "We have reason to believe his death was earlier this afternoon. When you do the autopsy, look for any signs that artificial heat was used to maintain the temperature. We think the water is a counter measure when the body temp is too high when he does the dumping."

"This is a pretty sick fuck, eh?" the coroner asks.

"Definitely," Reid answers.

The three agents spend a little over an hour combing the scene. Once again not only is the body wet but there are no noticeable pieces of forensic evidence on him. Hotch shakes his head.

"Makes it seem more like that receipt Morgan found was already in the alley. The unsub is very careful."

Rossi nods. "You're probably right. So can we learn anything more here or are we freezing our asses off for nothing?"

Hotch sighs. "Reid, let's go."

Reid nods and joins the older agents as they go back to the SUV. As they drive, Reid mumbles the specifics of this victim.

"34 years old, former athlete, career ending injury in college…hmmm…he wasn't in law enforcement but he did switch from a suburban school to an urban school to try to help kids get a better chance at life. That's kind of a parallel," he decides.

"He was married. Morgan is single. Very single based on the call he received from his lady friend," Rossi notes as the others laugh at that. "That's the first big miss in the mirror image aspect that I can see."

"Well, Emily's a lesbian. Her victim wasn't," Hotch points out.

Rossi nods. "True. He makes sure he hits on as many points as possible but is willing to let some aspects slip. There is just enough for each of us to start to relate to the victim; to feel bad about ourselves."

"It worked," Reid mumbles. "We're also doubting ourselves. He has power over us. He's controlling our emotions, our work, everything about us."

Rossi spins and looks back at Reid. "Because he couldn't control anything about the case that is driving this vendetta! This guy isn't in our files! I think Morgan pointed out it could be someone on the periphery and I bet it is! Maybe someone we didn't even know existed." He looks at Hotch. "We need to stop looking at old cases."

"What the hell do we do then, Dave?"

"We do what we do all the damn time, Aaron! We work the cases we've been given. Traffic cams, facial reconstruction, tracking info on the routers…we follow the clues without regard to trying to align things to previous cases. We listen to his words when he calls, we profile the scenes he drives us to with the routers, we profile the bodies and where they were left."

Hotch slowly nods. "Okay. Starting tomorrow we mostly wipe the slate clean and start at the beginning. Reid, I want you and JJ to continue to go over her old press conferences. The rest of us will concentrate on the here and now."

Reid nods. "Okay."

Hotch slowly lets out a breath. Having a new direction to take the case helps ease the pounding in his head. Hopefully a glass of Scotch from Rossi's collection will help even more.

* * *

Emily throws a final stack of financials down. "Nothing. Not a single damn crossover in any of the victims buying habits so far other than utility companies for 2 of them."

She starts to massage JJ's feet, which are in her lap so they can be elevated. Morgan runs a hand over his head.

"I got nothing here," he says as he drops a file on the table. "I took all 3 back through their childhood. Absolutely nothing."

"I have a store where the router parts originated but nothing in their system that shows a charge or check for the parts. Our guy either stole them or paid cash."

Emily looks at Morgan. "We can go by there tomorrow and see if anyone remembers the purchase of all those parts."

Morgan nods. "Sounds good. What else can we do tonight?"

Emily glances at the clock on the wall. "It's after 9. Let's call it a- -"

Her words break off as someone knocks on the front door. She and JJ exchange a wary look as JJ sits up, swinging her feet to the floor. Wordlessly Emily and Morgan stand. Emily eases up to the door and carefully looks out the peep hole. She lets out a breath she had been holding.

"Son of a bitch…" She opens the door. "Are you all staying here, too?"

Hotch, Rossi and Reid walk in.

"No," Hotch answers. "But we have info we wanted to share and we didn't want to use the phone. We swept the conference room again. Our initial sweep concentrated on foreign bugs, which is exactly what our unsub wanted."

Morgan slowly shakes his head. "Don't say it…"

"Two more bugs in the conference room, 1 each in all our offices sans Garcia's lair," Hotch confirms. "All are FBI issue. Our assumption is he didn't bug Garcia's office because he'd have had to punch in an unlock code and even if he used someone else's code it would have left a footprint."

"Damn," Morgan mutters. "So the bugs are gone?"

Rossi shakes his head. "No. We left them exactly where he put them. As far as he knows we are ignorant of their existence."

"But from this point forward, try to put any new ideas, any new leads, in writing only," Hotch orders. "Talk as normal, speculate, etc. But if you have a hot lead write it down or take it to Garcia in person."

JJ nods. "Can do. But won't he get suspicious if we fall silent?"

"Don't fall silent. Talk as normal," Hotch reiterates. "He has to believe we're still running blind. Let's start closing in on this bastard."

"What did you all figure out tonight?" Emily asks, seeing an excited glint in Hotch's eyes.

Hotch gives them a rundown of the conclusions they had drawn and their early confirmation that the bodies had been artificially kept warm to hide the fact that the unsub kills the victims immediately after the first call. In return, Morgan runs down the few threads Garcia had managed to unravel and their plans to question the employees of the electronics shop where the components for the router were purchased.

"Good. Plan to follow up on that after Rossi or JJ gets that call in the morning. Until then we work from the office as normal," Hotch states. "Now, pack it in. Have a drink, watch mindless TV, read a book. Do anything but work on this anymore tonight. We're all running close to empty. Try to relax. We're getting closer, Agents," he says confidently. "Let's sleep tonight and be ready for a break tomorrow."

The team nods but all wonder how they are going to follow Hotch's order to turn this damn case off for the night.


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning, Emily is surprised to see Morgan already in the kitchen when she comes down for a mug of coffee. He glances up at her, nervousness in his eyes.

"Morning," he says.

She lifts a brow. "Morning." She pours a cup of coffee, doctors it, then turns and leans back against the counter. "Well?"

He sighs. "Do not be pissed at Garcia. This is all on me."

Emily rolls her eyes. "You ran Morisini."

Morgan nods. "Yeah."

"And is she clean?"

"Yes."

"Then all is good," Emily states, taking a sip.

Morgan's forehead wrinkles in surprise. "Seriously?"

Emily nods. "Seriously."

He studies her a moment then starts to laugh. "Garcia told you, didn't she?"

Emily finally smiles. "Yep…when I went to ask her to run the same thing."

Morgan starts to laugh. "Damn. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Em. I just…with all the stress already I didn't want to add more to your mind or get you pissed at me."

"I get it, Derek. I promise. Sure I was pissed at first but then I understood why you did it the way you did. And Garcia was pretty effusive in her defense of you. So I decided to just let you deal with checking her out. I was sure she'd be clean but, well…I don't think I could have handled it well if she wasn't."

Morgan nods. "Understandable."

Emily stands. "So, make yourself useful and start breakfast. We'll be down in a few with the kids. Francesca should be here soon to make the shake that keeps JJ from turning into a caffeine thirsty monster so you shouldn't be on your own long."

Morgan chuckles. "And what will you be doing?"

"Changing diapers. Wanna switch jobs?"

Morgan moves towards the fridge. "Eggs and bacon sound good?"

Emily laughs. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

She goes back upstairs as Morgan starts to get things together to make breakfast for everyone.

* * *

It is well after noon on Saturday. The team had been vocal on certain things and cryptic on others, hoping to feed the unsub enough to keep him from changing the rules. But he had still managed to change them.

Well after noon…and no one has received a call as yet.

JJ is standing in the kitchen making some decaf when Emily walks in. JJ turns quickly, expectantly. Emily just shakes her head and starts to pour a regular coffee.

"Shit," JJ mumbles. "Is this change just to make us sweat or what?"

Emily shrugs. "That or the next victim did something the unsub didn't expect. Had a doctors appointment, went out of town, who knows."

"But two of us haven't gotten calls. He could have just switched victims," JJ points out.

Emily shrugs. "Unless there is an order to what he is doing. He may be telling a story we won't see until it is finished." She takes a sip of coffee. "How's your trip down memory lane?"

JJ rolls her eyes. "I looked so young in some of those. I can hardly believe I am seeing myself at times. And damn I got some chipmunk cheeks when I was pregnant with Henry!"

Emily grins and takes a sip of coffee. JJ lifts a brow.

"I do _not_ have chipmunk cheeks now!" JJ insists. Emily takes another sip. JJ rolls her eyes. "You suck, Prentiss."

"But you love me anyway, Jareau," Emily points out.

JJ smiles. "Yeah, I do." She sighs. "Well, back to the videos."

She takes a sip of decaf and starts out of the room. Suddenly her vision swims. She grabs the edge of the table as her knees start to wobble. As if it is miles away, she hears her mug shatter on the ground, closely followed by the distant sound of Emily's mug shattering.

"JEN!"

Emily grabs her wife, quickly shifting her into a chair. Emily kneels down, ignoring the coffee pooling under her. She stares into her wife's eyes.

"Jennifer, breathe, honey. Deep breaths, baby. Please," Emily begs.

"What's wrong?" Garcia asks. She had been coming for coffee but now the need for caffeine is ignored when she sees how pale JJ is and how shaken Emily appears to be.

"Di…dizzy," JJ mumbles weakly.

Emily is massaging the back of the blonde's neck. "Too much stress, Jennifer." She looks at Garcia. "Get the b.p. cuff out of her desk."

Garcia hurries to get the instrument at the same time texting Hotch to get to the kitchenette. She grabs the cuff and runs back to Emily as fast as her platforms will allow.

"Here!" she thrusts it at the brunette, glad to see JJ is already looking better.

"Thanks. Hold still, honey," Emily says as she quickly gets the cuff on and starts to check her wife's blood pressure.

JJ stares at her free hand, noticing it shaking. She can't deny the sudden feeling of weakness but hate that it happened at work.

"Prentiss? Jareau? What's going on?" Hotch asks as he walks up.

"JJ got dizzy," Garcia answers.

Emily ignores the distractions and concentrates on the read out in front of her. She sighs and stares into worried blue eyes.

"High yellow zone," she says.

JJ sighs. "Go figure."

Emily nods. "I'm trusting you when I ask this, Jen. What do you need to do?"

"Rest. Maybe on Rossi's couch again? An hour or so. Then we check again, okay?"

Emily studies the eyes of the woman she loves. She finally sighs. "Are you sure?"

"I think so. Please can we…try? If I go home I know I will just stay stressed not knowing what's going on. This way I know I'm close enough to be kept informed."

Emily bites her lip a second. "I will check you again in an hour. If it is still high yellow zone you go home," she states with finality.

JJ nods. "Okay." She looks up at Hotch. "I'm sorry, Hotch."

Hotch shakes his head. "Don't even go there, JJ."

Emily stands and helps JJ up. JJ leans on her as they walk to Rossi's office. Hotch and Garcia exchange a look, hating to see how weak JJ appears to be.

"If we were all pregnant we'd all look like that I bet," Garcia notes.

Hotch can't help but grin at the strange conclusion. "Most likely. I'll call maintenance to get this cleaned up."

Garcia nods.

In Rossi's office, Emily gets her wife settled. She strokes a hand through soft, golden locks.

"I love you. Call me if you need me."

"I will," JJ promises. "Sorry to scare you."

"That's okay. But the coffee stains on my pants, well, you get to pay the dry cleaning bill," Emily teases.

JJ looks down and sees the large wet patches. She smiles. "Oops. Yeah, I guess I owe you that."

Emily leans forward and kisses her wife. "I love you. All three of you. Please rest now."

"I will. Promise. I love you, too."

The share one more kiss then Emily leaves the office. As she closes the door she leans back against it. They had to find this bastard soon. He was starting to affect the lives of her wife and her twins.

"We gotta find this bastard," she mumbles and goes back to trying to find that one little clue that could point them in the right direction.

* * *

By 3 they are sure they are not getting a call that day. Something had seriously changed the unsubs pattern.

"What are the chances he was killed in a car wreck?" Reid suggests.

"Slim to none, Pretty Boy," Morgan replies.

"Damn."

"Well I, for one, am sick of watching myself on screen," JJ states. "I'm sure Reid is, too. Even after resting for over an hour I'm sick of myself again."

Emily studies her wife. The irritation is uncharacteristic of her and Emily is trying to decide if it is case stress or pregnancy stress. JJ slowly swings her head around and glares at her wife.

"Pissed at the case, Emily. Chill out."

Emily shrugs. "I didn't say anything."

"Yes you did," the whole team responds. Emily blushes.

"Actions speak louder than words sometimes, kid," Rossi points out.

"Oh," Emily says quietly.

"Whoa!" Garcia squeals.

"What is it, Garcia?" Hotch asks.

"Remember when I said I had no credit card info that explains the electronic shop buy and no one Morgan or Emily talked to remembered the guy?" The others nod. "I just got a hit that someone bought more of those parts, enough for 3 more routers, today at a Radio Shack on Route 1 in the Mount Vernon area of Fairfax County."

Hotch looks at Morgan and Prentiss. "Go. Now."

The two leap up and head for the door. Emily pauses and looks back at JJ. The blonde smiles.

"I'll be okay. Go."

Emily sighs. "Love you."

"Love you, too."

About 10 minutes after they leave, Hotch dismisses the team from the conference room to get back to what they were doing. JJ goes out to the kitchenette to make herself another decaf. She has just taken her second sip and turned when she is hit by a wave of dizziness again. This time she was lucky Hotch and Rossi were there to catch her and get her into a chair.

"That does it. JJ, you and Garcia are out of here. She can work from your home. You can go to bed," Hotch orders.

JJ tries to shake her head but only makes herself feel worse. Rossi looks at Hotch.

"I'll go get Garcia."

Hotch nods as he walks off. JJ lifts her head and looks into Hotch's eyes.

"Let me…call Emily. I'll call when we get home. Promise."

"Fine. But make sure she knows that was your idea not mine."

JJ manages a weak smile. "Deal."

Fifteen minutes later JJ and Garcia are in the lobby when one of Garcia's phones starts to sound. She grabs it out of her bag.

"NO! Not now, damn it!"

JJ studies her. "What's wrong?"

"My facial reconstruction just finished. It is already starting to get some hits. I need to refine things a bit."

JJ sighs and takes her keys back from Garcia. "Go. I'll drive myself and- -"

"Oh the TARTARUS you will!" Garcia exclaims. "What if you get dizzy while driving? No, no, no. We'll find someone else that can take you."

"Garcia? Something wrong?"

Garcia looks over to see one of the security guards. "Hi, Dom. Nothing wrong but JJ needs to be driven home. I need to go up and see if anyone can do it."

Dom Krieger shrugs. "I can do it. Just getting off shift." He looks at JJ. "If you don't mind that is."

Garcia smiles at the guard that always took the time to chat with her. "That'd be great!" She looks at JJ. "JJ, this is Dom Krieger. He's a real sweetheart and always has a kind word when doing his sweeps when you people abandon me while you're out seeing the world."

JJ chuckles. "Seeing the world? Yeah, that's all we're doing. Sightseeing." She looks at Dom. "And I know Dom, Pen. Are you sure you don't mind driving me home?"

"Not at all. My truck isn't too far away."

JJ looks at Garcia. "Okay. But promise to wait for Em and Morgan before you start home, okay?"

"Okay. Or if they go straight there I'll hitch with Rossi, Hotch and Reid."

JJ nods. "Sounds good. Good luck with the program, Pen."

Garcia heads off to the elevator as JJ and Dom make their way out to his truck.

* * *

Emily and Morgan stare at the Radio Shack that had popped in Garcia's tracking program. After a second Emily looks at Morgan.

"Maybe it relocated and this is the old address?"

Morgan shrugs. "Maybe. Let's ask at the deli next to it."

The two agents get out of the SUV and walk up to the boarded up store. They check to see if there are any signs about relocation but there is nothing. They go into the deli next to it and hold up their badges.

"Hi. Agents Morgan and Prentiss with the FBI," Morgan states. "Do you happen to know if the Radio Shack next door moved to another location?"

The woman behind the counter shakes her head. "Not that I know of. That's been gone over a year now."

"A year?" Emily confirms in shock.

The woman nods. "Yeah. The owners sold out all they could and moved on. Said they were retiring to North Carolina…or maybe South Carolina. One of those two."

"I see. Thank you for your time," Morgan says as he and Emily walk back outside.

They stare at the boarded up building as if it could give them an answer. Emily sighs.

"Let's drive up the road to the next couple of mini malls. Maybe the owners sold the franchise and the new owners are using the old info?"

Morgan shrugs. "Might as well try."

"Or, Morgan, maybe he sent us here on purpose." She stops and looks back at the building. "What if the unsub wants us here because this is his lair?"

Morgan studies the door and windows. He walks over and tugs a bit on the plywood over the door. It is solid. So is the wood on the windows. The two agents hurry to their SUV and drive around behind the building. They find the back door of the deli and figure out which door would be Radio Shack's since it is no longer marked. Morgan carefully tries the door but it is sealed tight. He studies the locks and shakes his head.

"This door hasn't been opening in a long time. There's dust and stuff in the keyholes."

"Shit." She sighs. "Guess we're back to driving."

Morgan nods. They get in the SUV and start up to the first mall. Emily texts Hotch to let him know what they are doing. She runs a hand through her hair.

"This case is one pile of shit after another."

"Damn right, Princess. Damn right."

* * *

JJ and Dom are nearly to his truck when she hears someone call her name.

"AGENT JAREAU!"

JJ turns to see Eleanor Morisini hurrying up to her. JJ smiles. "Hi."

"Hi. I, uh, haven't had a chance to talk to you since, uh, you know, everything came out. So, um, I just wanted to say thanks for the talk that day and I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you. I just wasn't ready to face…everything," she explains nervously.

JJ smiles. "I get it. And I know things have been a bit crazy since it all came to light but once things calm down maybe you could come over for dinner, meet the kids and have a long talk with Emily."

Nora smiles. "Yeah, I'd like that. A lot. Thanks."

Dom is glancing at his watch anxiously. He did not have time for this. He takes a calming breath and puts on a charming smile.

"Um, Agent Jareau, I hate to rush you but I sorta have a date tonight," he says with a shy shrug.

"Oh! Right. Sorry, Dom." She turns back to Morisini. "Look, Em or I will call you as soon as we wrap this case, okay?"

"Sure. Or, uh," she looks at Dom, "if you are in a hurry I can take Agent Jareau home," she offers.

He shakes his head. "I don't know. I promised Garcia I'd do it. Things are kind of tense right now." He steps closer to the two women. "I really think I should do this."

JJ shakes her head. "Nora is a cadet. I'll be fine with her, Dom."

Dom shakes his head. "Sorry, Agent Jareau, but I can't let you do that."

Before JJ can argue the point he whips a gun out of his coat and slams it upside Morisini's head. She drops to the ground. A kick to the same spot knocks her out cold. JJ stares in shock as he cocks the gun and points it at the unconscious woman.

"Get in the truck or I put a bullet in her head," he warns.

JJ looks around but sees no one. Dom grinds his teeth.

"I shoot her first, your twins second, JJ. Drop your bags and. Get. In."

JJ reluctantly moves to the truck and opens the passenger door. She gets up on the seat. Before she can close the door he is there holding it open. "Here." He tosses cuffs to her. "Latch your right wrist, thread the chain through the handle and then cuff your left wrist. You'll be uncomfortable but the alternative is a death or three," he points out.

He eases the door closed enough to make sure she does as ordered. He then slams the door. He grabs her purse and dumps it out, grabbing her phone and turning it off as he slips it in his pocket. He'd need it later. He then slips her clutch piece in his pocket. He gets into the driver's side of the truck and starts it up, driving calmly out of the lot with one hand, his other holding his gun level with JJ's baby bump.

"Do anything to draw attention to us and I shoot. Understand?"

JJ just nods, swallowing with force. "What…why are you doing this?"

"Your hubris killed the only woman I have ever loved. That's all you need to know for now. You and one other got her killed. And tonight, after years of planning, you will pay off your debts."

JJ stares at him, trying to figure out what to say to get him to stop this kidnapping and whatever else he has planned.


	12. Chapter 12

Garcia is refining…refining…cleaning up the image…and her stomach starts to turn.

"No…no…oh, please, no…" she mumbles as the face becomes clearer. Finally she can't deny what she sees. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Hotch and Rossi had been on their way to her office and now run the final few feet.

"GARCIA?" Hotch questions.

Garcia turns in her chair and points at the picture. "It's him! It's Dom Krieger!"

"Who is Dom Krieger?" Rossi asks.

"He's one of the building security guys. And he's driving JJ home."

The two agents turn to run down the stairs and out to the parking lot to see if by chance they can catch him before he leaves with JJ. Hotch calls over his shoulder.

"BOLO ON HIS VEHICLE! ALL KNOWN ADDRESSES!"

"RIGHT, SIR!" Garcia yells back and starts to type. "And, Dom, when I get my hands on you I'll…I'll…oh, you and your fake niceness are going to get such a beating from me!"

* * *

As Rossi and Hotch race out the doors of their building they see Morisini stumbling towards them, blood running down the side of her face. She points towards the parking lot.

"Black truck. Dom. Security guard. Has JJ," she says as she stumbles and falls to her hands and knees.

The men race past her scanning the lot but nothing is moving. They jog around but only confirm what they already knew: JJ and Dom are gone. As they head back towards the building, Rossi sees JJ's purse. He jogs over to it and sees everything dumped out. He looks up at Hotch.

"No phone."

"On it," Hotch says and hurries back to the building, stopping to help Morisini up and inside.

Rossi picks up all of JJ's things and pauses. "She always has two phones." He digs a bit in her purse then grabs her briefcase. "Damn it," he mutters as he opens it up and finds her personal phone in with her computer. "Bastard wanted her work phone. Something tells me we won't like what he uses it for," he mumbles, knowing it would be the perfect way to lead the team…to a body.

* * *

Reid meets Hotch as he steps off the elevator. His eyes widen when he sees the blood on his boss' shirt.

"Blood? Oh, God…JJ's?"

"No. Morisini's. She saw JJ and Krieger leaving. Was talking to JJ when he attacked. She said he kept saying he was in a hurry. He had all this timed and ready to go."

"But how did he know JJ would be leaving?" Reid questions.

Hotch thinks about it a moment then marches towards the kitchenette. He opens a cabinet and pulls out a canister with JJ's name on it warning would-be coffee thieves that it is decaf. He opens it up and takes a whiff. All he can smell is coffee. He turns to Reid.

"Take this down to the lab and get it checked. She got dizzy each time she took a sip. Maybe that was part of his set up."

Reid nods and hurries off with the canister. Hotch takes a deep breath and pulls out his phone. He hits Emily's number.

"Prentiss."

"I need you two back here now."

"Did someone get a call?" Emily asks.

"No." Hotch takes a deep breath. "The unsub is a building security guard named Dom Krieger."

"What? Dom? No way! He's a real nice guy!" Emily protests. "Maybe he's being set up?"

"Emily…he has JJ."

There is a pronounced silence on the other end of the line. "What the fuck do you mean he has JJ?"

Morgan's head whips around to look at his partner.

Hotch pinches the bridge of his nose. "He offered to drive her home after she had another dizzy spell."

"WHAT?! SON OF A BITCH!"

"Just…get back here. I'll fill you in on everything."

"On our way."

Emily hangs up the phone, glaring out the front window of the SUV. Morgan had already done a U-Turn and turned on lights and sirens.

"Em? What's going on?"

Emily gives him a terse run down of what Hotch had told her. She takes a deep breath as she finishes. "We were getting too close. JJ was probably his endgame but somehow, somewhere we were getting close and he took her."

Morgan just nods, noting the use of the moniker "JJ" was part of Emily fighting to get all her emotions shoved into a compartment. He places a hand on her leg in a silent show of support.

* * *

"Dom, can you…please explain to me what I did to you? I want to know…to apologize to you," JJ says with a calm that belies the turmoil inside of her.

"You'll know everything soon enough," Dom tells her.

JJ shifts in her seat. "How far are we going? This is very uncomfortable for me and for the twins," JJ says, hoping to get some sympathy.

"Tough shit. Uncomfortable is losing the love of your life because pompous assholes put her in the hands of danger," he tells her, spite lacing each word.

"I am so, so sorry for your loss, Dom. But my twins, these little babies, didn't hurt you. Please don't hurt Madison or Lucas. Please," she begs calmly.

He uses a red light to turn and glare at JJ. "Shut. Up. Or you start bleeding now."

JJ can see there is no reasoning with the man. She bites her lip and stares out the window, trying to figure out a way to get someone's attention without alerting Dom. Before she can try, the light turns green and he drives on. A few minutes later he turns into a rather run down mini mall. Only a few stores are still open and they are all far from the area he drives. He parks beside the back door of a van. JJ shivers.

"Dom…please…" she starts.

But he gets out and quickly walks around the truck. He opens the back doors of the van. JJ then realizes the way he has parked that he can open the door of the truck and the van doors will block what is happening. Thought it is a futile gesture, JJ quickly locks the door. He sighs and lifts up the remote and hits it twice, swiftly opening the door before JJ can hit the lock button again. His action puts JJ wildly off balance since her hands are still attached to the door.

"NO!" she squeaks.

Dom just grins and pulls a handkerchief out of his pocket. He quickly gags JJ and then grabs shackles to secure her feet. He brings his gun up to her temple.

"I'm going to unlock one wrist now. Try to run, try to hurt me, try anything and your twins are dead."

JJ shivers at the murderous intent in the man's eyes. "_Please, Emily…please find us. Please_," she thinks as she just nods in acquiescence to her captor.

Dom unlocks her right wrist then locks it in again once the chain is free of the door handle. He pulls JJ from the truck and shoves her into the van. She crawls in, hoping to keep him from roughing up her and her children any more than he already has. He hops in beside her.

"Lay down on your back," he orders.

JJ does as he says, her eyes never leaving his. He reaches just up above her head and grabs a collar attached by a short chain to the floor.

"Wouldn't want you to try to jump out or something." He runs his hand over her stomach, making her shiver in revulsion. "Of course, these two make that less likely but still…"

He locks her into the collar and stares at her a second. He slaps her face three times then pulls out her phone and snaps a photo. Grinning, he hops out of the van. He shuts the doors and moves his truck to a parking spot about 20 feet away. He grins, knowing this will give JJ time to see how hopeless things really are. He tosses her phone on the seat of his truck. He is sure the agents will find his truck and see that JJ is at his mercy. And he is not feeling merciful tonight.

In the van, JJ starts to kick her feet then really notices what is around her. The whole back of the van has been padded so she could kick but unless someone is right beside the van they'd never hear her. She tries anyway but all she gets is sweaty and tired. She cranes her neck around as she hears the driver's side door open. He looks around the seat and smiles at her.

"Now the fun really begins."

He starts the van and begins to drive. Soon he would have all he needs to exact his revenge on the two agents that ruined his life.

* * *

Emily storms into the conference room. "What do we know?"

"Garcia is crossing Krieger against our database. She said it could take a while for a hit. In the meantime, we have his life in front of us," Hotch tells her, pointing to the table.

She grabs a piece of paper and starts to scan over it. She slowly shakes her head. "Who the fuck is this guy? What's his fucking beef with us?"

"We don't know yet," Rossi answers. "Hopefully something in these printouts will give us something solid to investigate."

"His locker?"

"Reid and the head of security are looking at it now," Hotch tells her.

Emily runs a hand through her hair. "Her phones?"

"Personal phone was left in her briefcase. He made her drop it. He dumped her purse and the only thing I noticed missing was her work phone," Rossi says.

Emily drops the paper in her hand as her eyes land on JJ's purse. She goes over and starts to dig through it. She then upends it on the table staring at the contents.

"That's not the only thing missing." She looks up. "She keeps her clutch piece in here since it's smaller than her regular sidearm."

"Damn. I didn't even think about her gun," Rossi admits.

Hotch sighs. "We'll add that Krieger now has two guns at least to the BOLO." He steps over to Emily. "Prentiss, if you want to go home and be with your kids I- -"

His words choke off as she spins, grabs him by the front of the shirt and slams him into the wall. He sees eyes nearly black with fury. When she speaks her voice is a murderous calm.

"If you fucking think I'm going home to my kids to tell them, especially my son who recently buried his father, that their mother is missing and I'm not doing shit to find her you don't fucking know me at all, Hotchner."

Rossi and Morgan had stepped up to pull Emily off but Hotch waves them off. He stares into Emily's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Emily. You're right: you need to do what you can to bring her home to Henry and Rocky."

Emily slowly releases his shirt. She steps back as if suddenly realizing what she has done. "I…I…I'm sorry, Hotch. I…I…"

He steps towards her and places a hand on her shoulder. "No more apologies. Let's turn fear and anger into energy to find your wife."

Emily slowly nods. "Yeah…yeah, lets…I need to call Francesca. I need…I need…"

"You need to collect yourself. You can use my office," Hotch offers.

Emily just nods. When she turns to the doors she sees the others staring at her with concern. "I'll pull it together. I swear."

Rossi grins. "We know you will. You're Emily."

Emily gives him a small smile. "Yeah. Right. I forgot." She takes a deep breath. "Be back in a couple."

She walks out and slowly makes her way to Hotch's office. She tries to ignore the looks she gets from few agents working in the bullpen but can't help but think they are silently accusing her of not protecting her wife and kids. She steps into Hotch's office and closes the door. She sits on his couch, staring at his desk; specifically, staring at the lower section that holds the bottle of bourbon she knows he keeps there. She closes her eyes and shakes her head.

"No, Emily. Not while she needs you," she scolds herself. She pulls out her phone and punches Francesca's number.

"Cara, you have a break?" the nanny answers, expecting to hear the ladies will be late.

Tears well in Emily's eyes. "You could say that. Fucking unsub has Jen."

Francesca gasps. "Che cosa?! Dio no…"*

"Si." Emily sticks to Italian and tells her what has happened. She hopes that by not speaking English the kids won't overhear anything and get scared. As she finishes she switches back to English. "So tell them we're working late. Just…please pray for her, Francesca."

"I will, cara. I will do all of that. Prometto."**

"Thank you, Francesca. I'll call you as soon as…as we have her," Emily promises.

"Okay. Would you like to speak to the children?"

"Not now. Not when we are just getting going looking for her. I will try to call later but I hope to hell I am too busy going after their mother."

"I will hope for that, too, cara. I love you."

"Ti amo, Francesca."

Emily hangs up and leans back on the couch for a second. She can't believe she went after Hotch the way she did. She had been ready to tear him apart; ready to beat him to a pulp just so someone else could feel the bone-deep pain she is suffering. Her wife had been in danger before. But this time it's her wife, her son and her daughter. Would that asshole Krieger even care about the twins? Or would he harm them to hurt JJ?

"I'll kill him," she mumbles. "I'll fucking kill him with my bare hands if he hurts them or…or worse. Fuck justice I'll just kill him."

She takes a few deep breaths and does her best to tamp down the murderous rage. No way was she going to give Hotch a reason to pull her off this case. No. Fucking. Way. She stands and walks out of the office to see Morgan hurrying her way.

"Cop in Stafford found Krieger's truck. You up for going to check it out?"

"Fuck yeah," she answers.

Morgan nods. "Then let's go."

* * *

JJ loses track of how long they travel before she finally feels the van pull into a driveway. There is a pause and she can hear a garage door going up. She shivers as she comes to understand no one would see him take her out of the van. This had to be how he got all his victims secured without being seen.

Which means she is where he has killed five others.

The garage door starts to close and he gets out of the front seat. He waits until the door is shut completely before unlocking the back doors. JJ shivers but keeps her face passive as he opens the back of the van and hops up in with her. He grins down at her.

"Hi, honey, we're home," he taunts.

He unlocks her collar and helps her out of the van. He keeps her feet shackled as he pushes her towards the door into the house. Once inside, he forces her to walk through a kitchen littered with takeout bags and boxes. At the door to the basement he grabs her shoulder.

"You have enough slack to walk down the stairs. But just barely. Make any quick moves and you and your babies go tumbling down. Understood?"

JJ nods. He's telling her to forget the plan forming in her head to get away from him. He opens the door and gestures for her to proceed down the stairs. Thankfully her hands are cuffed in front and she carefully grips the handrail as she slowly picks her way down the unfinished wooden steps. As she steps onto the concrete floor she turns and sees two chairs facing each other in the middle of the basement. Blood on one chair and on the floor around it tell her this is where the others had been killed.

"Sorry I didn't get a chance to clean up for you. But you all were getting too close. You found all the bugs, you figured out I didn't keep people long before killing them. I just couldn't risk you all figuring out what this was all about. Slim chance but still, I had to move quickly." He grabs her by the arm and drags her to the chairs. He shoves her into the clean one. "Here. This way you aren't sitting in blood. I'm not a monster, you know," he says with an evil grin.

JJ grimaces. He sat her this way so she would have to see the blood and dwell on how soon hers will mix with the pools on the ground. He takes a leather strap and binds her upper body back against the chair. He then does the same with her legs against the chair legs. He uncuffs her hands and uses leather cuffs attached to the chair to secure her to the arms, then secures her ankles the same way to the chair legs.

"Sorry about the stiff leather but I'll need these for our next guest," he dangles the cuffs in front of her. JJ looks up sharply. He giggles maniacally. "Oh, did I forget to mention you'll have someone to share your death with? Silly, forgetful me."

He has been casually spinning one of the shackles as he speaks. JJ mumbles out a few curses and threats around the gag. He just laughs…then swings the shackle at her head, catching her in the temple. JJ sees stars but it doesn't knock her out. Just as she straightens her head, trying to show him he's not breaking her, he hits her again. And again. Finally a trickle of blood slips out a split near her eye. He steps back and waits for it to get to her chin before pulling a disposable camera out of his pocket.

"Smile, sweetie," he says.

JJ just groans as he snaps a picture of her red and bleeding face. He pockets the phone and starts towards the stairs.

"See you soon, Agent Jareau."

JJ can't even glare at him as her eyes are fuzzy from the hit. She can only sit up and say another prayer that Emily and the team find her soon.

* * *

**Per Android Translator:**

***What? God no…**

****I promise.**


	13. Chapter 13

Morgan and Emily are silent as they drive to the location of Krieger's truck. Emily finally takes a deep breath.

"There's more that we're missing."

Morgan nods. "I agree. I get JJ is his endgame but why didn't he ever call Rossi or her? I mean, even if he felt we were closing in the truth is we were stuck."

"Exactly. He knew some but not all. Maybe he figured out we were communicating via writing and was worried he'd end up too far behind us to finish what he's started."

"Could be. But I keep going back to his rants about conceit. I just can't remember a single damn time JJ put out a statement that made us sound like now-it-alls and then people died. That would have torn her up even if it was a set up press conference, you know?"

Emily nods. "I know. And just about every time something like that happened inadvertently she cried on my shoulder. Even before we were a couple. I just don't remember something that jumps out at me that would cause this sort of hatred and vindictiveness."

Morgan pulls into the lot where two police cruisers have secured the scene. He and Emily exchange a look of support then get out and approach the truck. Emily glances in the driver's window.

"He didn't even lock it."

They slip on gloves and each opens a door. Morgan sees the phone immediately.

"Em. Jay's phone."

Emily stiffens up. "He left it on purpose. Fuck that can't be good."

Morgan powers it up. Emily half-heartedly checks the door pocket, sure she doesn't want to know why that phone was left. Morgan checks text messages. Nothing. He checks photos and slowly shakes his head.

"That son of a bitch…"

Emily takes a firming breath. "What?"

Morgan stares a second longer then hands the phone over and watches his partner carefully. Emily's jaw tightens and her temple pulse starts to pound as she sees JJ's red face and the collar attaching her to something covered by her hair. But the blue eyes are what Emily focuses on. Yes there was fear in them but also confidence; confidence that her team would find her.

"We'll find you, baby. I swear," Emily whispers. She takes a quick breath. "Looks like she is on a bed or something."

Morgan looks at the nearly deserted parking lot. "What if…what if the bakery van wasn't the only one he had? Maybe he had one here, too. That bed could actually be padding."

Emily nods. "So his victims can't kick and draw attention to the van." She pulls out her phone. "Garcia, is there a van registered in Krieger's name?" She listens a second. "What about close family?" She listens again. "Damn. Check stolen vehicle reports. He may have just stolen the van and changed it enough not to draw attention to it." She hangs up and looks at Morgan. "Anything else in here?"

Morgan shuts the glove box. "Nothing." He opens the console between the seats. "Nothing. This damn thing is sterilized."

Emily lifts a brow. "Because the one time it wasn't he left a clue. That receipt! I bet you it was from him. He heard we found it and got this damn truck detailed so he wouldn't leave anything for us to find again!"

"We can check detailers in the morning. But I bet he did it himself. He wouldn't want to someone to find evidence of his victims accidentally."

"Good point. Still, it's a thread to pull."

"And we will, Em. We will."

Emily just nods. They check the rest of the truck but come up with nothing. He had made sure to leave nothing except JJ's phone. The two agents slowly walk back to their SUV so the crime scene techs can check the truck over once more. Emily leans against the door, staring at the truck that had helped kidnap her wife.

"I'm scared, Derek."

He looks at his partner. "How could you not be? We all are but I can't even imagine what this is doing to you, Em."

"Hotch should suspend my ass."

Morgan shakes his head. "No, he shouldn't. He shouldn't have made that suggestion and he knows it. He still may want a shot of your ass in the sparring ring for the slam into the wall but he won't suspend you."

Emily gives a crooked grin. "Yeah, I can see that."

The two stand there for an hour as the techs do their preliminary work on the truck. Much as they had concluded there was no easy evidence to find. If there is a clue in the truck hardcore forensic science is what will have to find it. The two agents get in their SUV and start the drive back to Quantico. They ride in silence, each hoping those at the office had had better luck than they did.

* * *

Reid is carefully examining everything that Krieger had left in his locker. Unfortunately, he had left very little. There are a couple towels, shower essentials and a change of uniform. Reid frowns and looks at the security captain.

"Nothing personal. Was his locker always this barren?"

The captain shrugs. "No clue. I've called Herb Johnson and Ben Gilbert to come in. They have the lockers on either side of Krieger. They may know something about the guy but…well…he didn't really socialize much. I mean, he was a nice guy, cordial but not really open to let people into his life. And he always had a reason to miss any get-togethers. If he didn't take the day off he'd ask for an extra shift that day. But he was good at his job and people liked him even if they didn't know much about him."

Reid sighs. "He showed us, everyone, what he wanted us to see. Anytime things could get personal he was sure to back out in such a way that would draw thanks or understanding. You never once questioned why he didn't want to participate?"

"I did ask. He said he just isn't good a group settings; made it sound like he was shy out of the uniform. I kinda felt bad for him. But I accepted that and just promised him I could help him with the social aspects if he wanted to attend. He thanked me and promised to let me know if he decided to attend. He never did attend but I got it. Some people don't do social, you know?"

Reid grins and nods. "Trust me: I know."

Reid checks the pockets of the uniform in the locker but it is no surprise they are empty. About twenty minutes later Ben Gilbert arrives. Reid shakes his hand.

"Hi, Ben. Do you know why you were called in?"

"I do. Man, I can't believe Krieger is a psycho."

Reid starts to explain that "psycho" is the wrong term then remembers time is of the essence and skips the lesson. Instead he reopens the locker.

"Can you tell me if his locker was always this sterile?"

Gilbert frowns. "Damn! No. No, he had pics of his late girlfriend in there. Cute girl named…Aliza or something. She died suddenly in college while he was overseas. Said she was the love of his life." Gilbert shakes his head. "I told him she'd understand if he found someone new but he wouldn't hear it. I guess we all mourn in our own time, right?"

Reid nods. "Yes. Is there anything else you can tell me about him? Where he liked to go on his days off? Anything?"

Gilbert thinks a second then shakes his head. "Never said anything to me. He just wasn't real open about his life, you know? Only reason he told me about his girl is I happened to see his locker open one day."

Reid's eyes narrow. "Happened to see? Did he normally hide it?"

"Yeah, he did. He'd often hear someone coming and quickly close it. That day I came around the corner and he was just staring at her. I heard him whisper 'Happy birthday, sweetheart' and struck up a conversation. Told him it sucked to work when you'd rather be out with your girl for her big day. Told him I hoped she didn't hold it against him. That's when she told me about her. Funny, it kind of seemed like he was almost relieved to get it all off his chest."

"Very strange. If you think of anything else, please call my cell phone. He's taken an agent hostage and time is of the essence to get her back alive."

"Damn. Never pegged him for a psycho," Gilbert repeats, still in shock that he never saw the murderous intent in the man he'd known for 2 years.

Reid paces until Herb Johnson shows up. Unfortunately he knows even less about Krieger as he had never even seen the photos of the girlfriend. As soon as Reid finishes with him, he is on the phone with Garcia.

"Garcia, Krieger used to have pictures of someone named Eliza in his locker. Run a search with that first name against his lives and our database."

"Small parameter. Let's see. Is that Eliza with an E?"

"I think so. Is there another way?"

"Um, maybe an A. Could have 2 L's in it. I'll just have it run several ways," Garcia offers.

"Good. If her death is the stressor she should be in recent cases; maybe the last three years since he's been with the FBI for 2."

"Is it just me or is that a long time to wait for revenge?" Garcia asks.

"Not just you, Garcia," he acknowledges. "But he is showing he is very meticulous so he was able to set that anger at us on a backburner while he developed his plan for revenge."

"Okay, well, I have it running. I'll call you if I find anything."

"Thanks, Garcia."

Reid hangs up and pockets his phone. He stares at the now closed locker, wondering if he could have missed anything. He had even pried the bottom out to see if Krieger had hidden anything but only found dust and a long dead spider. He shivers again just thinking about the dead arachnid. Reluctantly he finally calls Hotch and tells him what he has learned. Which is really a whole lot of nothing and one slim lead about a girl named Eliza or Aliza or maybe even Alliza. He shakes his head.

"Thank goodness Garcia knows how many name options to look into," he mutters as he pockets his phone and starts back to the BAU conference room.

* * *

After Morgan and Prentiss leave, Hotch and Rossi start to go over information about Krieger as fast as Garcia can churn it out for them. Rossi frowns as he reads one bit of information.

"He took a leave of absence from college for a year."

"Does it say why?" Hotch asks.

"The generic term 'emotional distress'," he answers and looks at Hotch. "Could be that distress had to do with one of our cases."

"Maybe. When was it?"

"It was…huh…it was the year I started back here. Would have been his second semester and the following fall semester. That could at least narrow our search parameters," Rossi says and texts the information to Garcia.

Hotch nods. "I'll see if I can find any deaths in his family during that time."

The two dig some more into that time of Krieger's life. They are still working it when Reid returns.

"Anything?" he asks hopefully.

"We've narrowed some parameters with information Rossi found. We're also going to cross that time frame with the name and death you discovered. It will have to give us something," Hotch answers. "Morgan called. His truck was pretty much worthless."

"Pretty much?" Reid questions.

Hotch sighs. "He left JJ's phone in it. Took a picture of her bound and showing he'd obviously smacked her around a little."

Reid's eyes flare in anger. "I…I need…I need a coffee."

"Take all the time you need to mix it," Hotch says, knowing the young man needs to clear his head. Reid has no sooner walked out than Hotch's phone rings. "Hotchner," he answers.

"Agent Hotchner, this is Dr. Steinberger in the lab. I finished the test on the coffee you sent down."

"And?"

"You were right: it had been tampered with. Someone laced it with liquid nicotine, which is a very strong stimulant. It was diluted so it wasn't toxic but still strong enough to cause the person to get dizzy, basically getting a buzz off the coffee. For a non-smoker it would have been very disconcerting. Additionally, it would have caused the person who ingests it to have elevated blood pressure readings immediately after ingestion. Again, in a non-smoker it would have been even more pronounced."

"That son of a bitch…he wanted us to send JJ home. He was probably waiting for a chance to offer to drive her home and may have even attacked Garcia to get her," Hotch mutters.

"Uh, right," the doctor replies. "So, um, I'll get you the official report soon. Just wanted you to know."

"Thanks, Doctor," Hotch says and hangs up. He tells Rossi what was found.

"Then your mutterings are right: he set her up. You know, Morgan and Emily go chase a wild goose up Route 1. What do you want to bet he is the one that set up that alert somehow," Rossi points out. "That puts JJ and Garcia alone to go home. No offense to her, but he could quickly overpower Garcia like he did Morisini and JJ's gun was in her purse. He knew JJ would be easy pickings."

Hotch shakes his head in disgust. "We played right into his hands. This whole case he's been in charge, not us. And now he has JJ." Hotch drops into a chair. "And, Dave…she may already be dead."

Rossi says nothing. There is no need to echo what they already knew but had yet to voice.

* * *

Dom Krieger knocks on a solid wooden door. He holds his credentials up so they would be visible to the peephole. He is not surprised when the apartment owner calls through the door.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, sir. Dom Krieger, Quantico Security. I've been sent to check on your condition in the wake of an attack on your former team."

He hears locks disengaging and the door pops open. "My former team?" Jason Gideon questions.

"Yes, sir. It seems Agent Jareau has been kidnapped due to errors you and she made on a case a few years ago."

"Errors? JJ? What…I need to call Hotch," Gideon states and unwisely turns his back on the security officer.

Krieger smiles and steps in behind Gideon, quickly cracking him in the back of the head with the butt of his gun. Gideon drops to his knees and Krieger hits him again. He shuts the door and steps in front of Gideon. He knocks the phone out of the older man's hand and stomps on it. He then tosses a pair of handcuffs on the floor in front of Gideon.

"Cuff your hands behind your back," Krieger orders.

Gideon looks up defiantly. "Why the hell would I do that?"

Krieger shrugs. "I kill you here, I kill you later; makes no difference to me." He pulls out his phone and shows the picture of the beaten, bloody JJ. "But the things I have planned for both of you will all be heaped on her and her twins. Your call, asshole."

Gideon lifts the cuffs. Krieger moves behind him and makes sure they are put on tightly, ratcheting them once more to be sure he can't get out of them. He grabs a coat of the nearby rack and drapes it over the man's shoulder.

"We're leaving now. If we run into anyone and you say anything, I will kill them. I am on my endgame, as you conceited bastards call it, and I have nothing to lose. So if you don't want more blood on your hands and want a chance to save JJ and her twins you'll behave." He pulls Gideon up. "Let's go."

Gideon keeps his mouth shut. He is thankful they don't run into any of his neighbors on his way out to Krieger's van. Once at the van, Gideon is secured the same way as JJ was.

"Is this really necessary?" he asks.

Krieger sneers at him. "Yes! It's uncomfortable and sort of painful. Your conceit put you in this position. Maybe you'll think about that while we drive."

He slams the door and stomps around to the driver's side. Gideon shifts a little.

"You don't need to hurt JJ. Just hurt me. Whatever you are upset about she had no control over. She was just a media liaison back then and did what we told her."

Krieger sits behind the wheel a few minutes as Gideon tries to reason with him. He then spins and stomps back to his captive. He grabs a roll of duct tape out of his tool box and slaps a couple of pieces over Gideon's mouth.

"There. Much better. Don't worry: I'll remove it when we get where we're going. I'll have need of you then."

He pats Gideon on the shoulder and goes back to the wheel and aims for his hideaway. Two more murders. Just two more and Aliza will be avenged.

* * *

Hotch is rubbing his eyes, scouring his brain for another avenue to investigate when his phone rings. He glances at the screen.

"Rossi, it's unavailable."

Rossi quickly calls Garcia. "Garcia, Hotch is getting a call." He listens a second then nods to Hotch.

"Hotchner."

Morgan, Reid and Prentiss all crowd closer, listening for anything that could give them a hint where the call is originating from.

"Took you long enough," the electronic voice states.

"Sorry, Krieger, I was indisposed," Hotch lies.

"Ah…you do know me. How nice." The voice then gets normal. "Guess I have no more need for the voice modulator. What time is it, Agent Hotchner?"

Hotch glances at his watch. "It's 10 minutes to 7."

"Very good."

There is a pause and another voice comes on.

"Hotch, it's Gideon. He says you have until 9 p.m. to find us or JJ dies first."

"NO!" Emily screams.

They hear laughter then nothing as the call is disconnected.


	14. Chapter 14

When they arrive at the house, Gideon scans everything he can trying to find a way to get himself and JJ out of this mess. In the basement Krieger shoves him towards the chair in front of JJ.

"Sit, Agent Gideon."

JJ's eyes had widened when she saw Gideon. She knew immediately the team had been looking at the wrong snapshot of cases. They had looked from Rossi forward.

Gideon sits back, trying to telegraph to JJ that all is going to be okay. Krieger quickly binds Gideon the same way he had bound JJ. He then steps in front of the man and rips off the duct tape. Gideon winces but manages to avoid screaming in pain as he feels skin being torn.

Krieger just smiles.

After the call to Hotch, Krieger starts to pace around his two captives.

"So, do you two know yet while you are here? Oh, wait, my mistake." He walks over and undoes JJ's gag. "My apologies, _media liaison_," he says sarcastically. "How can you spew lies if you are gagged? Now, I ask again, do you know why you are here?"

"You're a murderous freak," JJ mutters.

Krieger laughs. "NO! Punishment time!"

JJ's eyes widen as he pulls out a knife.

"NO! Don't hurt her!" Gideon yells.

JJ yelps in pain as Krieger swipes the knife across her chest just above her right breast. It is not a deep cut but it does start to bleed in stark contrast to the yellow blouse she wears.

"Now, maybe you two will think before you answer next time." He walks over to a table and picks up a pair of trauma shears. As he approaches JJ she starts to shake her head.

"No…stop…what are you doing?" she asks.

"I'm just trying to make you more comfortable, Agent Jareau." He quickly cuts through her overcoat and the blazer below it. "There. Much better. So, I ask again," he drops the shears and places his knife at her throat, "why are you here?"

JJ stares into eyes devoid of compassion. "I don't know," she answers honestly.

"Tsk, tsk," he says. He turns to Gideon. "So, Agent Gideon? Why are you two here?"

"Obviously we made a mistake on a case and you lost someone you loved. Tell us what we did wrong; tell us what case; give us a chance to make amends," he begs.

Krieger slowly walks over to him. "Wrong. Answer."

Gideon steels himself for the cut that is coming. But Krieger spins quickly and puts a mirror image slice over JJ's left breast. She grunts in pain, staring down at the second line of blood darkening her blouse.

"_Mirror fucking image_," she thinks to herself, reflecting on the way they had started their investigation.

Krieger leans in close, lifting JJ's chin to stare into scared eyes. "You all were so sure when the first two messengers died that they were probably a mirror image of me. But now you know what you had vociferously denied: they were just like _you_, Jennifer Jareau. She felt safe after talking to you but she died anyway. You. Are. A. Lying. BITCH!" he backhands her across the face.

JJ is shaking in fear and pain. Krieger turns his attention to Gideon, who is screaming for JJ to be left alone. Krieger takes a deep breath and turns.

"Jealous, Gideon? Don't worry, I have fun planned for you, too." He walks over and places the flat of the knife against the former agents' cheek, the point right below his eye. "Figured out who I am yet?"

Gideon stares into the man's eyes. "I have no idea. I've never met you before in my life so how the hell could I know you?"

Krieger starts to chuckle. "Finally…finally something truthful comes out of your mouth." He spins the knife and slices down Gideon's left bicep, making the man wince. "That's for all the nameless, faceless people you destroy with your conceit."

"WHAT CONCEIT?!" Gideon yells, trying to rattle the man.

It doesn't work. Krieger just smiles…and slices his other bicep.

"This is going to be so much fun." He glances at his watch. "Ah, tick tock, tick tock. The end of your life is swiftly approaching. Let's see what more fun we can have, shall we?"

He turns his attention back on JJ, who forces herself to just glare at the man and show him no more weakness or fear.

* * *

"OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD!" Garcia exclaims as she types as fast as she can, matching Krieger, the name Aliza in its various spellings, and his college to cases including Gideon. Finally it all narrows to one. "YAHTZEE!"

The entire team is standing behind her. Reid's eyes scan everything first.

"NO! Fuck! It was Gideon's last case. The campus security guard was the unsub, we arrested him, all was declared all clear but a copycat killed one more girl!"*

Emily's eyes widen. "Yes! That girl Aliza! She even approached you, Jen and me outside the dorms that night. She hugged Jen she was so relieved!"

"And JJ kicked herself for weeks after that case. I kept telling her she couldn't have expected that girl Anna to kill her in hopes of then getting killed by Tubs." Reid turns to Garcia. "The girls name was Aliza, with an A, last name Jost."

Garcia quickly starts to search that woman. The team members start calling out things for her to add. Finally she throws her hands up.

"STOP! STOP! STOP! Reid, Hotch, you two stay. The rest of you out! I can't work with you all screaming at me. If you have something you think we should add text Hotch and only Hotch. GO!" she orders.

Morgan and Rossi start towards the door. They look back and see Emily hasn't moved. The two men step back and each take an arm.

"Come on, kid. Let Garcia work her magic."

Emily reluctantly lets the men guide her out. In the hallway she pulls away from them.

"I…need a moment."

They nod and watch as she walks to the bullpen. She walks to her desk and drops down into her chair. She picks up her electronic picture frame and stares at the photos morphing in and out on the screen. She looks at the clock. It had been almost an hour since he called and made Gideon give them a time frame. Why so fast?

"Because we were getting close. We know who he is and it's only a matter of time before we find him. That's why," Emily assures herself.

"Um…Emily?"

Emily turns and stands. "Nora. Are you okay?"

Morisini walks over, her hand gently touching the gauze taped to her head. "Yeah. Fine. Mom will tell you my head is pretty hard."

Emily gives her a small smile. "Runs in the family." She takes her sister's hand. "Thank you for telling Hotch what happened. I am so sorry you got caught up in this."

Morisini shrugs. "Not your fault. Glad I could do a little to help. So, um, I guess there's no word yet?"

"Sort of." Emily tells her about the time frame.

"Damn. So, um, mind if I wait here to find out what happens?"

Emily shakes her head. "Not at all. Thank you."

The two sit down. Emily picks up the photo frame and passes time by explaining the pictures to Morisini. Her voice chokes off as a picture of Emily and JJ at the altar flashes up. Emily traces a finger down her wife's cheek.

"She is so beautiful," she whispers.

Morisini smiles and pats Emily on the shoulder. "Yes, she is. You both look gorgeous in that picture."

"She took my breath away. Morgan had to tell me to breathe before I passed out. I just…I am so fucking scared. What the hell is this doing to her and to our twins? I just can't handle this, Nora."

Nora takes Emily's hand. "Stay positive, Emily. You're not alone. I'm here, your team is here, and we're not giving up on JJ or the twins. Don't you give up on her, okay?"

Emily just nods. Her phone alerts her to a text. Absent-mindedly she grabs it off her hip and opens the message. She leaps up.

"NO! GOD NO! JEN!"

Morgan and Rossi both hear her and race in from the conference room. Morisini turns to them.

"JJ's bleeding. Badly."

Morgan goes to his best friend as Rossi texts Hotch to let Garcia know Krieger has once again made contact.

* * *

Krieger steps back, smiling at his handy work. In addition to the two cuts on her chest, JJ now has a shallow cut on her neck and one on her left forearm. None are life threatening but they make her look terrible. He pulls out his burn phone and snaps another photo.

"Think your wife will put this one in that frame on her desk?" he asks as he hits send.

"Fuck. You," JJ replies.

"You are one tough cookie, Agent Jareau. But a conceited liar. You still don't know what this is about, do you? I'll give you a hint." He slices her other arm. "The killer used a knife, too."

JJ forced herself not to grunt at the pain. She stares into Krieger's eyes. "A lot of our killers used knives," she points out.

Krieger shrugs. "Oh well. I'll let you recover a bit and go back to our old friend Jason."

He turns and stares at the angry man. Both arms have cuts on biceps and forearms. He also has one on his cheek.

"Tell me, Jason old boy, have you ever been so utterly wrong before?"

"You've told us nothing to help us figure out how we wronged you. We can't properly apologize if we don't know what we've done wrong. At least tell us the name of the man we arrested, which was obviously wrong."

Krieger thinks a moment then slices Gideon's other cheek. "Okay, I'll give you the name of the man you said was the killer. But you have to give me something in return."

"What?"

"A confession. On camera. I want you to admit you were wrong and it cost my girlfriend her life."

"If you leave Agent Jareau alone I will do it," Gideon concedes.

"Oh, no, no, no. One deal is on the table: the name of the killer in exchange for your confession."

Gideon glances beyond Krieger to JJ. She gives a subtle nod, letting him know she appreciated the gesture but to go ahead and get the name. Gideon looks back at Krieger.

"The name?"

"Nathan Tubs."

JJ's head snaps up, her eyes going from Gideon to Krieger. She would never forget that man or that case. "You were…Aliza Jost was your girlfriend?"

Krieger spins back to JJ, shocked she remembers Aliza. "How the hell do you remember her?"

JJ swallows hard. "She…she was so scared. She and another girl, Katie, gave us valuable insight into the way the student body was handling the killings. She approached me and," she stops, deciding not to bring Reid or Emily into Krieger's demented world, "and she asked if things were okay. I told her we had someone in custody and…she gave me a hug." She locks eyes with Krieger, hoping he sees the truth in her words and emotions. "When I saw her body the next morning I was sick. Katie slapped me. I deserved that and so much more. I swear to you, Dom, I have never forgotten Aliza. I am so, so sorry for your loss. And I am so, so sorry for any part I had in her death."

Krieger stares into her eyes. "Lying. Bitch. She meant NOTHING to you!" He backhands her twice. He grabs her by the hair and places the knife at her throat. "You never gave a damn about her just about your damn reputation!"

JJ refuses to back down. "You're wrong. You're hurting and you have been carrying that hurt for too long. Or maybe it is guilt that you carry. Where were you? Why didn't you take her to the library that night? Were you one of the people getting plowed? One of the students using the arrest as an excuse to get wasted?"

"I WASN'T EVEN IN THE COUNTRY!" He screams.

And plunges the knife into JJ.

* * *

***Season 3, Episode 1 "Doubt"**

**A/N: I can't find Aliza's last name anywhere so I made one up. :o)**

**A/N Part 2: I have loooooved everyone's speculations on the unsub. Hope this satisfies y'all. :o)**


	15. Chapter 15

Garcia practically leaps out of her seat. "GOT IT! Sort of!" she quantifies.

"What do you have, Garcia?" Hotch demands.

"I have three possible locations he could be using. In crossing that information with where the routers originate I can narrow it down to 2 locations."

"Pull up satellite views," Hotch orders.

Garcia zooms in on both locations. One is a house in a middle class neighborhood. Reid shakes his head.

"Too many chances to be seen or heard."

Hotch nods in agreement an points to the second location. "More rural. Garage. I don't even see the neighbors in the shot so no chance someone would hear the gunshots. What can you tell us about the two locations, Garcia?"

"Both had been empty a long time but are now showing utility activity." She types a bit more. "The rural home shows increased electric usage on the days of the killings."

"A tanning bed," Reid states. "He puts the bodies in a tanning bed to keep them warm. That's the spike in electrical."

"And explains why the bodies would get so hot he has to douse them before dumping them," Hotch agrees. "Garcia, does that house have a basement?"

Garcia types and pulls up property assessments. "Yes, sir."

"He'll have them in the basement. More control that way. We'll go, scout from the outside. If we confirm they are not on the first floor we plan a silent entry based on best entrances to use. Let's g- -"

Hotch stops as his phone alerts him to a text. Reid and Garcia stiffen as he stares at the screen. There is no need to tell them it is unavailable. He takes a deep breath and hits open. He winces as he sees the bloody mess that is Jason Gideon. He closes the pic.

"Garcia, we'll need EMT's on standby. Stage them a half mile from the house. Tell them to be ready to race forward at a moment's notice."

"Yes, sir. How many?"

"At least two. Three would be safer."

"On it, sir. SWAT support?"

"I'll call White and have a team sent to back us up but I prefer not to use them if we don't have to. Too many people means too many chances to lose our agents," he answers. "Let's go."

Reid nods and follows him out of the room as Garcia starts to make the calls to arrange medical support. She then concentrates on finding a live satellite view of the house. Maybe she couldn't see inside but she could at least watch how the team enters when they get there.

* * *

Emily's leg is jumping, her hands clenched, as Morgan drives behind Hotch's SUV to a house in southern Stafford County. Hotch had ordered radio silence in case Krieger still had a radio and was able to hear what was being discussed. When they get onsite, they will use text messages to compare notes on what they see and only use their mics in an emergency.

Morgan opens his mouth a few times but isn't sure what to say. Emily bites her lip and turns to him.

"No need to say anything, Derek," she says, knowing he'd been trying to comfort her. "We both know how this bastard operates. We know she could be…be…" She takes a shuddering breath. "He'll pay for what he has done to her no matter what condition she is in."

"Emily, I ask this as a friend: please don't fire your gun. Don't give anyone a reason to claim murder."

Emily thinks a second. "I…I can't promise that, Derek."

"Don't make a promise you can't keep. I get that. But try. For Henry and Rocky. Try."

Emily just nods and turns to look back out the window.

* * *

JJ stares at the knife handle protruding from her forearm. Her vision swims as the pain radiates up her arm.

"_He must have hit a nerve_," she tells herself with a preternatural calm. "_That's going to suck as it heals_."

Krieger studies the look on her face a moment. When he sees the shock finally turn to pain, he grins…and rips the knife back out.

"AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!" JJ screams as she feels her flesh tear.

Krieger grins. "Do you think Aliza screamed like that when she got her head smashed in? Or when that bitch Anna was stabbing her? Do you?"

JJ stoically brings her head up to meet his eyes. "No," she states, surprising even herself by how steady her voice is. "According to the coroner she was unconscious after the first blow and killed while still out. She felt nothing. What you are doing here is 1000 times more horrendous than what she went through. She would hate you for doing this. You know that in your heart."

He glares at her then brings the knife to her throat. "My heart died the day I got back to America and found out she was dead."

He slices the opposite side of her neck, careful not to go too deep and end his revenge before he wants. He turns to Gideon.

"What do you think she felt, oh great Gideon, legend of the BAU? What do you think she thought while being viciously murdered?"

Gideon had heard something in Krieger's taunt to JJ that he decides to focus on. "Why didn't you know until you got home that your girlfriend was dead?"

Krieger frowns. "Wh…what?"

"You told JJ your heart broke when you got back to the States and found out Aliza was dead. Why didn't you know sooner if she was your girlfriend? Someone should have told you: mutual friends, her parents, someone who knew you cared for her. Instead, you were surprised to find out." Gideon shrugs as best he can. "That tells me the relationship was all in your head. So who are you really mad at? Anna? JJ? Me? Or maybe yourself because you had feelings for Aliza and never had the balls to tell her?"

The more Gideon had talked the angrier Krieger had become. He starts to shake his head; his grip on his knife tightens. As Gideon's final question dies out, Krieger screams and leaps at the man, driving the knife deep into his shoulder.

"NO!" JJ screams, unable to see exactly where the knife has gone and terrified it is in Gideon's chest.

For his part, Gideon just smiles at Krieger. "Ah…mad at…yourself…figures," he mumbles.

"What do you mean 'figures', asshole? I am mad at you and JJ…NOT me!"

Gideon forces himself to chuckle. "Bullshit. You can't even face the truth. She wasn't your girlfriend. Did she even know you existed? Or did you simply fantasize about a women you would never, ever have. Why would she love a coward like you? A man who would torture a pregnant woman; a man who would kill innocent people in some sort of twisted game to show he has a semblance of power. Well you know what? You have no power and you have no girl. It's all in your twisted fucking head."

Krieger is shaking with rage. He tries to yank the knife out but it is caught on bone. Gideon groans at the pain

"STOP! STOP HURTING HIM! STOP!" JJ screams.

Krieger lets go of the knife handle and storms over towards the table in the room. He lifts up JJ's clutch piece and pulls it from the holster.

"Game over," Krieger growls angrily.

"NO! NO! DON'T!" JJ begs as he cocks the gun and starts back towards his captives, his eyes locked on Gideon.

* * *

The team parks just down the road and quickly approaches the house on foot. Emily, Morgan and Dave go around the right side of the house, checking in windows as the go to the back while Hotch and Reid check out the front and left side. Confident they have not seen any sign of JJ or Gideon on the ground level, the agents all make their way to the doors. Morgan lifts up his phone.

"_Right side, back clear. Ready to enter_," he texts to Hotch. "_Saw door in kitchen that most likely leads to basement_."

Hotch texts back. "_Left side has a door leading to the basement from the outside. Reid and I are ready to move down to the door. Make entry now and wait in kitchen for next order_."

"_Copy_."

Emily quickly picks the lock and they quietly enter the kitchen. On the side, Reid quietly picks the lock on the basement door and places his hand on the handle. He nods to Hotch: he's ready.

Hotch is preparing to text Morgan to carefully enter the basement when two gun shots ring out, followed by JJ screaming.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

That is the only signal Reid and Morgan need. Both breach the basement at the same time.

"FBI! FREEZE!" Morgan screams as he practically leaps down the basement stairs.

Emily and Rossi take up positions on the steps, their guns trained on Krieger. Reid and Hotch stand either side of the basement door, their guns also on the man.

Gideon hangs limply in his chair. Krieger's free hand reaches out and grabs JJ by the hair. He shoves his gun under her chin.

"NO! DROP YOUR GUNS OR SHE'S DEAD! I SWEAR! SHE'S DEAD!"

"You have the wrong person captive," Hotch states. "You know I am in charge of this team. Everything JJ said on the news and to the students in person was done on my order. She didn't want to tell the students they were safe. She fought me on that. I ordered her to tell the kids, including Aliza, to get back to business as normal. It was all on me, not on JJ."

Reid and Hotch can see Krieger is starting to believe the unit chief. The maniac's gun starts to ease away from JJ's chin but it would still kill her if it fired. Hotch potentially drives one last nail into his own coffin.

"In fact, I saw Aliza that night after she spoke with JJ. She was scared to go study. I told her to go study at the library and show everyone it was safe. She didn't want to go but I convinced her she owed it to the girls that died to keep on studying. In a way, I killed her, not JJ," Hotch finishes.

Krieger's eyes had gotten darker and darker. Finally he explodes. "BASTARD!"

He spins, his gun swinging up. As soon as it clears JJ, Morgan and Hotch each pump three bullets into the man, driving him to his grave.

As he falls, all the emotions JJ had been trying to control bust the dam. She starts to sob. Emily leaps past Morgan and races to her wife as Reid races to Gideon.

"JENNIFER! GET THE FUCKING EMTS!" She kneels beside her wife, cradling her face. "Hang on, baby. You're safe. You're safe, okay?"

"Gi- -Gi- -Gid- -,"

"Shhh…Reid and Hotch have him, baby. Just worry about you right now." Emily fumbles with the leather straps but manages to get her wife's arms and ankles free. Rossi undoes the straps that help secure her in the chair. Emily helps JJ out of the chair and helps her lie on the ground. She and Rossi grab pieces of JJ's blazer and try to stem the bleeding from several wounds until the EMTs arrive. JJ carefully lifts a hand to Emily's face.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Emily frowns. "Sorry? For what?"

"I wouldn't give in. I made him mad at times. He'd hurt me because I wouldn't give in."

Emily leans forward and kisses JJ's forehead. "You are a profiler, Jen. I know you did what you had to do to protect yourself and our twins. No apologies, baby. You're alive. You're alive, sweetheart."

On the other side of the basement, Reid and Hotch have gotten Gideon to the ground. He has two gunshot wounds in his torso. He is unconscious and his breathing shallow. Reid looks at Hotch, tears in his eyes.

"He's dying…"


	16. Chapter 16

Though it had seemed like forever to Emily and Reid, the EMTs are in the basement in less than 3 minutes. Emily reluctantly lets her wife go but stays where JJ can see her. JJ is quickly put on IV fluids and attached to all sorts of monitors. Emily chances a glance over to where a man and woman work on Gideon. Reid looks up and catches her eyes.

"Jayje?"

Emily nods. "She'll be okay. Gideon?"

Reid tries to speak and finds he can't. He simply knows too much.

"Oh, God…" Emily whispers.

It surprises no one when Reid gets in the ambulance with Gideon nor when Emily gets in JJ's. Emily studies the readouts on all the machines attached to her wife. She strokes a hand through tangled golden hair.

"You will be okay, Jennifer. The monitors on you and the babies are just fine, sweetheart. Just fine."

JJ gives her wife a sad grin. "You suck at lying to me, baby."

Emily just leans down and kisses her wife's forehead. No way was the brunette going to tell her wife that the fetal monitor is in the red zone across the board.

* * *

Morgan is staring at the body on the floor. "All this because a copycat killed his girlfriend."

Hotch nods. "Apparently."

Morgan looks at Hotch. "What does that mean?"

"This was…too much. The planning, the set-up, never once confronting us but instead taking his time to stalk us for at least 2 years that he worked at the FBI. None of that is textbook to someone who loses a loved one in a way they perceive as intentional. He blames us for his girlfriend's death but was she really his girlfriend?"

Rossi stares incredulously at Hotch. "In all honesty, Aaron, who the fuck cares? Let's get the reports done here, let's get the body collected and burned for all I care, then go see JJ and Gideon in the fucking hospital."

Hotch stares at his mentor. "It matters because he took so long to plan his revenge we need to know why. You know as well as I do when people are grieving they act immediately. He never called us, never demanded explanations from us, never tried to sue us. This just doesn't make sense to me."

Rossi steps closer and locks eyes with Hotch. "If the cases we work ever start to make sense to you…turn in your badge."

Rossi turns and walks out of the basement. Hotch looks at Morgan.

"Am I WRONG?!"

Morgan sighs. "No, sir, you're not wrong. But Krieger is dead. Gideon is near death. JJ and the twins are fighting for life." Morgan gestures to the basement. "This will all be here to profile when we know the fate of our friends." He steps closer and lays a hand on Hotch's shoulder. "So for now, shove your guilt aside. You did nothing wrong on that case, you have done nothing wrong on this case. Hotch…Aaron, just because you are our leader doesn't make any of this your fault. Let it go for now. We can come back to it when we know what's happening at the hospital."

Hotch looks once more to the body on the floor. He sighs. "You and I can wait for the crime scene techs so we can hand over our guns. Tell Rossi…tell him to go on."

Morgan nods and goes upstairs to tell Rossi he can go on to the hospital. He finds the older agent standing in a doorway staring into a room.

"Rossi, Hotch said you can go on to the hospital. He and I can wait for the…what the fuck is that?"

The wall directly in front of the door is covered with photos of Eliza accentuated by red hearts, cupids, poems, flowers, other signs of love. The wall to the left has information culled from the internet and what looks to be FBI files on Jason Gideon. There are slash marks through the photos, red paint splattered on it all like blood. The wall to the right has the same violent tableau but JJ is the subject.

"Son of a bitch," Morgan whispers.

"Two years worth of images on these walls."

"More than that," Morgan notes. He points to some of the images. "There are articles from the case; there are pictures of Aliza before she died. These are all his memories, all his pain, all his desire for revenge on three walls." He sighs. "Will help us show it was a good shoot."

"The condition of JJ and Gideon prove that," Rossi points out.

"Yeah." Morgan pulls the SUV keys out of his pocket and presses them into Rossi's hand. "Go. Let us know what you find out. We'll be there soon."

Rossi nods and starts down the hall. "Derek…tell Aaron I…I…"

"He knows, Dave. He knows."

Rossi just nods and continues out of the house. He gets in the SUV just as the IA investigators and crime scene techs arrive to do their things. He watches them go inside. Just more cogs in the machine. A machine that could cost 2…make that 4 more lives before it chugs to a stop tonight. He looks in the rearview mirror and rolls his eyes.

"Remind me why the hell I am still here?" he requests of his reflection as he starts to vehicle and drives to the hospital.

* * *

Emily paces the surgical waiting room while her wife is being treated. She suddenly stops.

"Shit…did I tell them she is in week 33? Shit, shit, shit," Emily mutters.

Reid, sitting nearby, rolls his eyes. "You told them, Emily. You also told them locals only and to double check any blood they give her because of the babies. You've told them that at least 3 times that I know of."

"Oh," Emily says and continues to pace.

Rossi soon joins them. He tells them Hotch and Morgan are waiting at the house for now but would be there as soon as they could be. The three then lapse into silence. Reid continues to sit, legs and arms crossed as if to make himself smaller; a defense mechanism they have seen before. Emily paces like a bull awaiting its turn in the ring; fury radiating off of her to mask her fear. Rossi alternates between sitting and staring at the floor or standing and staring out a window. Finally after 2 hours a doctor comes out from the surgical theatres.

"Prentiss?"

Emily races at him. "ME! I'm the wife of Jennifer Prentiss. Is she okay? What about the babies? What's happening?"

The doctor holds up his hands to calm her down. "Easy, Mrs. Prentiss, easy. Jennifer is okay. Her vital signs are stabilized though we are still giving her a last pint of blood and some fluids. All her wounds save one are superficial. The wound to her forearm includes a nick to a nerve bundle and a muscle. Right now she has no feeling in her fingers but I believe that is just temporary. I have a request in for the hand surgeon to come in tomorrow and double check everything." He takes a deep breath. "As to the twins…there were…complications."

Emily's knees weaken and she would have fallen had Reid and Rossi not been there to steady her.

"Comp…complications?" she whimpers.

"They are still alive," he says to immediately alleviate her fears. "But the stress on JJ's body nearly sent her into premature labour. Ideally we like all babies to make it to at least 34 weeks before birth to give them the best chance at survival. We've been able to stop the labour for now. Her regular OB, a Dr. Manton, correct?" Emily nods. "She has been called and is on her way in. I'd say she'll be here in 30 minutes or so. Until then, I can take you back to the recovery room. We'll keep her there until Dr. Manton makes her evaluation."

"Right. Okay. Right. So…for now…all is good?" Emily squeaks.

The doctor gives her a confident smile. "All is good right now."

"Oh, thank God."

"Go on back to her, kid. We'll fill Hotch and Morgan in when they get here," Rossi tells her.

Emily just nods and follows the doctor back through the doors. Reid watches her go then returns to his seat. Rossi walks back towards the window, pausing to give Reid a fatherly squeeze on the shoulder.

* * *

Emily runs her fingers through JJ's hair. The blonde recognizes the touch immediately and her eyes flutter open. There are tears in them as she tries to smile.

"Hi, baby. The, uh, twins tried to escape," she jokes.

Emily smiles and gives her a kiss. "We can ground them as soon as they are born in a few weeks for worrying us."

JJ chuckles, a tear slipping down her cheek. "Yeah."

Emily drops the bedrail and pulls her wife into the tightest hug possible as the blonde loses her hold on her emotions and breaks into hard, choking sobs. Emily rubs her back and kisses her temple.

"Shhhh, it's okay. You are safe now, Jennifer. So are Madison and Lucas. All three of you are okay and you're all going to stay okay. Shhh, baby. Everything is okay," she whispers over and over again until Dr. Kendle Manton arrives.

"Hi, ladies," the doctor says, her voice confident and strong. "Jennifer, I hear you had a rough day."

"You fucking said it," JJ agrees, still gripping her wife tightly.

Kendle smiles and pats her on the leg. "Well, let's take a look at these two babies. From everything I have read in the reports the stress caused the false labour. That happens a lot when a pregnant woman goes through a distressing event: car accident, death of a loved one, and, well, what you went through sure as hell qualifies. The important thing is for you to recognize you are safe here in the hospital and everyone in this building will be doing their best to keep you and your babies healthy. Okay?"

"Yeah. Um, okay. But can you hurry and check them? Please?" JJ begs.

Kendle smiles. "Of course. The ultrasound should be here soon. For now let's get a manual check of your vitals."

JJ nods as Kendle checks all of JJ's vital signs and orders a protein test to make sure JJ isn't developing any other issues. When she finishes, Kendle smiles.

"All is looking great. Ah, here's the ultrasound. Let's get a look at those babies, shall we?"

JJ and Emily just nod, both still too frightened to speak. Kendle draws the transducer over JJ's stomach. Onscreen they see Madison first. The little girl is slowly moving her arms and legs. At first Emily and JJ are worried about the slow movements but Kendle just smiles.

"Perfect. As you know, the babies will be in the fetal position now until birth. They won't have as much room to move around but you will still get a few good kicks to the bladder from them," Kendle assures her patient.

"Gee. Great," JJ says, grinning, her eyes still brimming with tears.

Kendle moves the transducer around. She grins. "Okay, Lucas' head is at Madison's feet currently. They are tops to tails."

"Is that okay?" Emily asks.

"Sure. They will continue to move around, change positions, looking for the perfect comfy spot to keep growing. Think of it the same way as you tossing and turning in a hotel bed versus your bed at home."

"Ah. Okay."

"He seems to be doing fine. He is even…" her words trail off.

Emily and JJ both stare in shock at the screen…then all three women burst out laughing.

"Well, I think he has told you how he feels about the stress you've been under, Jennifer," Kendle jokes.

Lucas' tiny little left hand is up, his middle finger fully extended at the camera. Emily laughs and kisses JJ's temple.

"He soooo gets that from you," she teases.

"Sadly, you're probably right. Please, oh PLEASE, never tell my mother about this," JJ pleads.

Emily chuckles and kisses her again. "We'll see."

Kendle finishes checking over the little boy. "Well, ladies I'd say both babies are okay. And their mother is getting better. Now, as you heal from your wounds, your body will have higher stress levels. Jennifer, I am ordering you off work. I don't even want you working from home. I know you have to give a statement about what happened but after that I want you home, in bed, for at least the next week. After that I'll make a house call and see what the next week holds."

"A house call? Seriously?" JJ asks.

"Seriously. So far your pregnancy has been less eventful than Emily's. However, this experience you have been through and the injuries caused by it, not to mention the emotional stress of it all, nearly sent you into labour. We can't risk that again and keep the twins healthy. At the next check, we can start to discuss natural birth or C-Section alternatives. For twins, I recommend a C-Section but that is just me. Whatever you want, and if that is in the best interest of the children, that is what we'll do. Okay?"

JJ nods. "Okay. Whatever you think, Dr. Manton."

Emily rubs JJ's shoulder. "Exactly. Is there anything we can do to help make sure the nesters don't fly the coop too soon?"

Kendle chuckles as JJ rolls her eyes at the description of her and her babies. "Bed rest, plenty of fluids, watch your salt intake, no stress, keep your feet elevated, and if you have any problems call me or get to the ER. Oh, and keep eating the healthy meals Francesca makes for you. If I had one of her for all my mothers I'd never have troubled pregnancies."

Emily smiles. "She is certainly one of a kind."

"I'd like to keep you in the hospital tonight. Tomorrow afternoon we'll take another look at everything and if all is to my liking you head home for bed rest. Sound good?"

"Sounds good, Dr. Manton." JJ reaches out a hand to her. "Thank you so much."

"My pleasure, Jennifer. You have my number if you have any questions." Kendle stands. "You four take care of yourselves, understood?"

Emily grins. "Understood. I plan to take care of these three nonstop until I get them settled at home."

Kendle smiles. "Perfect. See you tomorrow afternoon."

Kendle leaves and Emily looks at JJ. "Anything you need, just ask, Jennifer. Anything at all."

JJ swallows. "How's…how's Gideon?"

Emily sighs. "I don't know. For now we'll concentrate on you. As soon as they come to move you to another room I'll find out. I swear. For now, just rest, sweetheart."

JJ closes her eyes and leans her head against Emily's shoulder. "I love you so much, Emily. I knew you'd save me. I knew it."

Emily breathes in the scent of her wife and kisses her on the temple. "I love you, too, Jennifer. I don't know what I'd done if…if…" She takes a deep breath. "I just love you so much."

A few minutes later JJ slips into a peaceful sleep.

And Emily finally releases the tears she had been holding in.

* * *

Emily is sleeping fitfully on the little futon-style chair beside JJ's hospital bed. When she dreams it is the same thing: the team arrives too late and JJ dies. She has just turned over once again to try to find a more comfortable position when a whimper reaches through the tendrils of sleep and wakes her completely. She sits up and sees tears on JJ's cheeks.

"Jennifer…baby, what's wrong," she says scrambling to her feet.

JJ is covered in a slight sheen of sweat. Her eyes scrunched closed.

"Hurt. Locals wore off. Arm feels like a million knives piercing it," JJ chokes out.

"Oh, sweetheart," Emily moans, quickly hitting the call button for the nurse. Her eyes scan the monitors and sees JJ's blood pressure is starting to rise. "Honey, a nurse will be here soon. For now try to…to…shit, try to breathe, honey. Lamaze breathing, remembering.

JJ takes a deep breath. "Fuck." Exhales. "Lamaze."

Emily smiles. "That's Sandy's sweet little girl."

JJ just grunts in response. Emily is wishing she could do anything to ease her wife's pain when the nurse walks in.

"What's wrong, Mrs. Prentiss?"

"All her locals have worn off. She's hurting; especially her arm where she was stabbed. Her b.p. is rising as her body reacts to the pain," Emily explains.

"Damn," the woman says, studying the readouts. She looks at Emily. "Go to the nurses' station and tell them what is happening her and have them page the on-call doctor." Emily nods and leaves. The nurse turns back to JJ. "She's gone, Mrs. Prentiss, so you don't have to spare her the truth. How bad is it?"

"Scale of…1 to…10? A…14," JJ admits.

"As I thought. Try to lay still why I do a manual check of your vitals."

JJ just nods. A few minutes later the woman shakes her head. Before she can verbally state the obvious, Emily returns with a doctor who is still wiping sleep from his eyes. The nurse chuckles.

"Have a good nap, Dr. Gale?"

The man just grunts and moves to JJ's side. "Vitals?" The nurse gives them. "Not too bad. Get her a shot of morphine and- -"

Emily grabs the man and spins him around, fire in her eyes. "She is 33 weeks pregnant, you idiot. Wake your ass up or go get a doctor that isn't trying to do an imitation of Sleepy Dwarf."

The man looks terrified. The nurse bites back a giggle. JJ rolls her eyes.

"Emily. Heal," she orders.

Emily releases the doctor and steps back to her wife. "Say the word, Jen, and I find a new doctor."

"Wait, wait, wait…" the doctor says. "I'm sorry: I should have looked more into her history before ordering pain meds. I'm sorry." He takes a deep breath. "Due to your pregnancy we are limited in what we can do. However, let's get some topicals again. They won't help completely but they will give you a bit of relief. We'll also get some ice packs. That will help some, too."

The nurse nods. She and the doctor leave to get what they need to ease JJ's pain a little. Emily moves to her wife's side and takes her hand.

"I won't apologize to him because he deserved that wake up call, but I apologize to you, Jen. Sorry I got a little, um, out of hand."

JJ shakes her head. "My protector."

Emily shrugs and rubs her wife's stomach. "I said I'd protect all 3 of you. I nearly failed at that with Krieger. No damn way I would fail you with a doctor whose head is up his ass."

"Em, you didn't fail us with Krieger."

"We can discuss it when you get better." Emily strokes a hand through her wife's hair. "I love you, Jennifer, and I'll kick the ass of anyone that puts you and our babies in danger."

Before JJ can tell her that isn't necessary, two nurses return to start giving JJ what relief they can.

* * *

Reid stands up as Gideon groans. He steps closer to the bed. And takes his mentor turned friend's hand.

"Gideon? Are you with us yet?" Reid looks over at the other occupant in the room. "Rossi, I think he's waking up."

Rossi shakes the sleep from his eyes and stands up. He looks down at his old friend. "Come on, Jason. No way some little fuck having a temper tantrum gets the best of you. Something tells me you played him the entire time he was trying to control the situation."

Gideon's eyes gradually open. He slowly looks around him, a frown on the face as he tries to figure out where he is and why.

Rossi pats him on the arm. "You're in the hospital. Bastard shot you twice. Once bullet nicked your lung. The other rattled around in your body but didn't do terrible damage. And he is dead. He'll never hurt anyone again."

Gideon tries to speak but the tube in his mouth prevents it. But Reid knows what he is asking.

"JJ is okay, Gideon," Reid says. Gideon's eyes flick to Reid. "She is hurting since she can't be given pain meds but she and her babies will be okay."

Relief floods his eyes. Rossi pats him on the shoulder.

"Everyone is okay, Jason. Go back to sleep. When next you wake you may be able to get that damn tube out of your mouth."

Gideon's eyes give a tired smile as he lets them slip closed. Reid lets out a sigh of relief.

"He's going to be okay…right?"

Rossi smiles and nods. "Yeah, he is, kid. He sure as hell is."

The two agents sit back down. Rossi soon drifts off to sleep again. Reid, however, keeps an eye on Gideon the rest of the night.


	17. Chapter 17

At 3:30 the next afternoon JJ is released from the hospital with strict instructions to lay off the salt, monitor her b.p. every 2 hours, and stay in bed except for showering or going to the little agents room. JJ watches her wife drive them home. She smiles.

"Emily, we're not going to be attacked, you know that right?"

Emily frowns. "What do you mean?" as she checks the mirrors again.

JJ giggles. "You don't check the mirrors or your blind spots that much on a high speed chase." She reaches over and pats Emily's leg. "Honey, just…drive normally."

Emily sighs, resisting the urge to check her blind spots again. "Yeah, well…if we get hit by a rogue moped or something it's all your fault."

JJ grins. "I'll risk it, nutcase."

Emily just grins, knowing she has called her wife the same thing on several occasions. "Damn…you must be rubbing off on me."

"You should be so lucky," JJ agrees cheekily.

Both women chuckle, each feeling a bit of weight ease off their shoulders. Fifteen minutes later they are being waved through the gates of their community. JJ lifts an eyebrow as she sees a van from Acme Medical Supplies leaving their neighborhood.

"Medical supplies?" she questions.

"What?" Emily asks innocently. TOO innocently.

JJ sighs. "What have you done?"

"Why do you assume I did something? Could be for one of the neighbors or something," Emily points out.

JJ rolls her eyes. "If it was, you'd be speculating if it's one of our friends and concerned that something is wrong. The fact that you pretended not to hear what I said tells me you are still trying to come up with an explanation."

"Oh you think you know me so well."

JJ laughs. "Yes, yes, I do."

Emily grins. "Damn. I might have ordered a couple of things that will help our peace of mind while you are on bed rest."

"Such as?" an amused JJ presses.

"Blood pressure monitor with alarm, heart monitor with alarm, and, um, an ultrasound."

"An ultrasound? Are you kidding me?" JJ confirms, laughing.

"No! Dr. Manton is coming to check on you in 5 days. If you were going to her she'd need these things so I just thought I'd have them here for her," Emily justifies.

"And so you can check on the babies whenever the urge strikes you?"

Emily shrugs as she pulls into the driveway. "Uh, well, probably." She puts the Lexus in park and turns to her wife. "Jen, I just want everything to help keep you and the twins safe."

JJ brings a hand up and strokes her wife's face. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too. Come on: let's get you inside."

Emily hops out and hurries around to help JJ out of the SUV. The blonde takes a deep breath as she stands. Emily studies her a second.

"I'm okay, Emily. Just stiff."

Emily offers her wife her arm and JJ gratefully takes it. As they get inside they are greeted by two happy children.

"MOMMY!"

They run at JJ but Emily steps in front and intercepts them. "Whoa! Guys, Mommy is really hurting and because of the babies she can't have medicine. Maybe once I get her settled in bed you can cuddle with her."

"That make her feel more better?" Henry asks.

JJ smiles and answers. "Definitely, Little Man."

"Okay." Henry looks at Rocky. "Let's get books, Rock."

"Um'kay. We read Mommy."

The two run off into the playroom to get books to "read" to their Mommy. Emily looks at Francesca.

"Everything delivered okay?"

"Si, cara. All is set up in your bedroom."

"Thanks, Francesca."

"No problem." She walks over and gives JJ a kiss on the cheek. "Rest, cara. I will be up soon with a smoothie that will help you without hurting the bambinos."

JJ smiles. "Thank you, Francesca."

She gives the nanny a kiss on the cheek then allows Emily to help her upstairs. When they get to the bedroom, JJ smiles at the machines. She shakes her head.

"Thank you for all this, sweetheart."

Emily gives her a quick kiss. "No thanks needed. Now, let me help you get changed and- -"

"Uh, any chance I can shower first? Don't get me wrong, I loved the sponge bath you gave me but a full shower would really be appreciated."

Emily smiles and nods. "Of course. I'll get you some clean pajamas. Do you need help undressing?"

"You just like getting me naked," JJ teases.

Emily winks. "Damn right."

JJ giggles. "Let me try. I'll call you if I need help."

Emily nods and goes into her wife's closet to find a clean, soft pair of pajamas. JJ walks into the bathroom and starts to strip for the shower. As she removes her shirt (having forgone a bra for the drive home) she pauses to stare at herself in the mirror. The angry cuts above her breasts make her shiver. She runs her hand over her stomach.

"Oh, my sweet babies…if he'd cut lower…" she shivers at the thought.

She hears Henry and Rocky arrive in the bedroom so she turns from the mirror and quickly finishes stripping. Soon she is letting out a sigh of relief as the warm water cascades over her body. Though she'd only been captive a few hours and he hadn't done anything sexual to her she still feels dirty. She quickly puts her favorite melon body wash on a poof and washes all over. Twice. She then washes her hair, wishing her wife were there to do it for her. When that is done, she just stands in the water, letting it help some of her aches and pains.

"Jen? You okay?" Emily asks nervously.

JJ eases the door open. "Yes. Why?"

"You've been in there 15 minutes. Just worried."

"Oh!" JJ says in surprise. "I guess I lost track of time. I'll be out in a few minutes."

"Take your time, baby. Just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Just fine, baby. Promise," JJ assures her wife.

After she dries off, JJ applies the topical antibiotics with a mild pain relievers on her various cuts. She then puts on her fresh pajamas and takes a deep breath. Time to forget the horror of those hours she spent with Krieger. Time to remember the most important job in her life: mother. She goes out and sees Emily sitting with Henry and Rocky. Rocky scrambles up.

"You dere!" she points to beside Henry.

JJ smiles and scoots to the center of the bed. Rocky then cuddles up on her right side. JJ smiles and hugs both her kids.

"You two make me so happy."

"We love you, Mommy."

"Si! Love Mommy!" Rocky agrees.

"So, what book shall we read first?"

Rocky holds up "Baby on the Way". It had recently become a favorite of both children as they await the birth of their siblings. JJ smiles.

"Perfect."

JJ starts to read. Emily just sits on the other side of Henry, listening to her wife but watching the happy faces of her son and daughter.

* * *

At dinner time that night Francesca is feeding the children as Emily prepares a dinner for JJ. Someone knocks on the door and Emily glances at Francesca.

"I'll get it." She walks out and looks through the peep hole. She frowns in confusion as she unlocks and opens the door. "Why in the world did you knock? Normally you just come in."

Garcia stands on the doorstep wringing her hands nervously. Stephanie stands just behind her. "Does she hate me?"

Emily thinks a second. "Does who hate you?"

"Jayje. Does she hate me?"

"Why would she hate you?" Emily asks, baffled.

"I'm the reason he got her."

Emily rolls her eyes. "Penelope Garcia, it is not your fault. Had you walked out that door with her you'd have been hurt or worse."

"Good luck getting her to believe that," Stephanie states.

Emily opens the door wider. "Both of you in here for dinner."

Stephanie smiles and gives Garcia a gentle push to get her to step into the house. Emily takes the tech's hand.

"Stephanie, grab a plate. Francesca made spaghetti and meatballs."

"Yum!" Stephanie says and hurries into the kitchen.

Emily leads Garcia over to the counter where JJ's dinner awaits. She lifts up the tray and hands it to the nervous blonde.

"Go feed your best friend."

"Oh, Emily, I don't think- -"

"Penelope. Go."

"Oh, okay. But if I make her mad and her blood pressure spikes I am SO pointing out you made me do this under duress."

Emily smiles. "I'll risk it. Go."

Garcia slowly turns and climbs the steps. She pauses a moment outside the bedroom then steps in. She looks at her best friend dozing in the bed. She tries to speak but her mouth is too dry. Luckily JJ had smelled the gourmet masterpiece that is Francesca's spaghetti and meatballs. She slowly opens her eyes as she takes a big whiff.

"Mmm. Smells good."

"Ummm…good," Garcia says cautiously.

JJ finally notices who carries the tray. She smiles. "Hey, Pen. So you going to feed me or just tease me with that food?"

Garcia brings the tray in as JJ sits up and uses a couple pillows to give her back support. Garcia puts the tray across JJ's lap and helps her get situated. JJ studies her best friend. As Garcia goes to step back, JJ grabs her hand. Their eyes lock.

"I am so glad you didn't walk out that door with me, Pen. He'd have…he'd have found a reason to stop us in the parking lot and I don't even want to think what he'd have done to you."

Garcia bursts into tears. "But…But…But…"

"No 'buts', Pen. He was going to take me no matter who stood in his way. Look what he did to Nora. Imagine what he'd have done to you. You were a real threat to him; Nora was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Are you sure? I mean really? You can cuss me if you want," Garcia offers.

JJ smiles. "No cussing needed. The things you did helped the team find me. I owe you, Garcia. If you had walked out the door he'd have hurt you and then where would I be?"

"Yeah…well…I don't know. I just…I hear you but it may take my heart a few days to believe it."

JJ grins and nods. "Understandable. Anytime you need reassurance call me. I'll remind you that I don't hate you and that I owe my rescue to what you did to help the team find me. You're my hero."

Garcia finally gives her friend a small smile. "Yeah, well…maybe."

"Why don't you go down and fix a tray for yourself and bring it back up here to keep me company."

"Really?"

"Really."

Garcia smiles and nods. "Okay. Thanks, Jayje."

She starts to the door and stops as Emily steps in, Garcia's dinner tray already prepared. "I figured you'd need this," the brunette states.

The bottle-redhead grins. "Damn right I do. Thanks, Princess."

Garcia sits on the bed and Emily helps her get settled and the tray on her lap. She then exits giving the two bestie's some time for themselves.

* * *

That night after using the equipment to check JJ's vital sighs, Emily insists on using the ultrasound just once to check on the babies. As she brings the transducer over JJ's stomach she chuckles.

"Good news: Lucas isn't flipping us off anymore."

JJ giggles. "Good. Guess he forgives us."

The two women watch the babies shifting and moving on the monitor. Both are looking healthy and happy. Reluctantly Emily eventually turns off the equipment and helps JJ get cleaned up and settled. When she crawls into bed she smiles when JJ cuddles up to her.

"I love you, Jen. Thank you for doing whatever you did to keep the babies safe."

JJ rubs Emily's stomach. "I was so scared he'd hurt them."

And JJ finally cracks. Tears pour down her cheeks and she sobs into Emily's shoulder while the taller woman just holds her and whispers words of comfort. After a few minutes, the tears subside. JJ takes a deep breath.

"Thank you, Emily. I needed that cry and I needed your reassurance."

Emily hugs her closer. "You have that and anything else you need, Jennifer. I know the doc said if we get to week 34 the babies will be fine if they are born. But I say you let your body decide when to have them. If we can wait longer let's do that. Let's give them the best start in life possible."

JJ nods. "I will. And then we can schedule a C-Section. There are chances for complications with both birth types but I think I'll feel better knowing Dr. Manton will be ready to pull them out if complications arise."

Emily's heart trips at the thought of "complications" arising. But for JJ she just nods and kisses her wife's forehead. "Then let's do it that way."

JJ closes her eyes and slips off to sleep, safe in her wife's arms. Emily stares at the ceiling a little longer, thanking God, the doctors, her team and everyone else who had a role in bringing her wife and the twins home safe even if JJ is hurting.

"Everything is fine, Emily, go to sleep," she coaches herself, and soon she, too, slips off into dreamland.

* * *

Monday around 11 a.m. JJ is napping once more. She feels a hand stroke over her brow and a sad sigh. Her eyes flutter open.

"Mom?"

"Oh, Jenny…"

JJ sits up and winces as Sandy pulls her into a hug. She sees her father standing just beyond her mother and holds out a hand to him. He takes it, unshed tears in his eyes.

"I'm fine. So are the babies. I swear. Just sore. And my arm is throbbing as that wound heals. But last check my heart and blood pressure readings were fine. I swear," JJ assures them.

Sandy sits back and stares into her daughter's eyes. "Emily told us all that. Still scares the heck out of us what could have happened."

Alan steps forward and squeezes his wife's shoulder. "Actually, this morning she claimed to be 'scared as shit' and told me I'd better 'put the fucking pedal to the metal' to get us here."

JJ laughs as Sandy blushes. JJ kisses her mom's cheek. "So sorry I made you cuss, oh angelic Sandy."

Sandy swats her hand away and glares at her husband. "You two were always so much alike and always a burr in my butt."

JJ grins. "We just like to keep you on your toes."

"Your job does that well enough, young lady," Sandy playfully scolds her daughter.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that for a while. I'm on bed rest until, as Emily says, the nesters fly the coop." Alan and Sandy grin. "And then until maternity leave is over."

"Do you get double for the twins?" Alan asks.

"Afraid not. But if I need more time goodness knows I have enough comp days and vacation days I haven't used. I'll be fine."

"Good," Alan says. "I thought I was going to have to have a man to man talk with Hotch on your behalf."

JJ laughs. "Right. Like you could get through his hard head if he had his mind made up."

Sandy and Alan both start to chuckle. JJ blushes and winces.

"He's in the doorway, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is," Hotch answers her.

JJ slowly turns her head. "Uh, hi, sir. Lovely day, isn't it?"

Hotch grins. "It was until I was insulted by one of my agents."

JJ shrugs. "Oh, please, like you don't know you have a hard head."

"She's got you there, Aaron," Rossi says, stepping past Hotch into the room.

JJ grins. "So is everyone here?"

"Morgan and Reid are visiting Gideon. Then Morgan's job is to get Reid out of the hospital," Rossi answers.

"He still hasn't been home?"

"Nope. So, when I leave here, I go there and hopefully the genius will see that means Jason isn't alone," Rossi answers.

JJ nods. "Good. Is Gideon better?"

"Yes," Hotch answers. "Tube came out yesterday and his lungs are getting better every time they test them. He should be fine in no time."

"Thank goodness. He saved me from torture a couple times."

"According to him you did the same for him. Sounds like you worked very well together to give us time to get to you," Hotch notes.

JJ shrugs. "We were both just trying to stay alive and keep the other one okay, too. I still can't believe Krieger stewed on his anger for so long."

"From what we can tell, the relationship was all in his head," Hotch tells her. "Most likely the fact that he never had a chance to make her his girlfriend played a part in the depth of his fury. Truth is, nothing you could have said or done back then would have changed what happened this week."

"Part of me knows that. But all of me knows that you claiming to have ordered me around is what really gave you the chance to save us. Thanks, Hotch."

Hotch nods. "Anytime, JJ."

* * *

As the group in the bedroom continues to talk, Emily is watching a movie with the kids. When someone knocks on the door she rolls her eyes, wondering if Garcia was in need of reassurance again. She goes to the door and is once more surprised by who she sees on the other side. She opens the door.

"Nora? Hi!"

"Um, hi. Your dad, uh, our dad, told me where you live when he was here visiting in case I wanted to come see him. I hope you don't mind that I stopped by to check on Agent Jareau and, uh, see if you're pissed at me that she got hurt," the cadet spews out all in one breath.

Emily reaches out and takes her hand. "I don't hate you. I'm just happy all he did was clobber you. And JJ and the twins are okay. Why don't you come in and meet your niece and nephew?"

Nora blushes. "Oh, um, no. I mean, I don't want to intrude. And, uh, well, I kinda figured…I mean, do you really want to explain who I am?"

Emily chuckles. "Nora they are 3 and 1. They call Garcia aunt and the guys uncles. They don't exactly understand the familial aspect of the titles. And someday they may ask and by then we'll have figured out a way to tell them."

"Oh. And, um, are you…sure about me? I mean, I kinda thought you'd want a full background on me or something before trusting me around your kids."

Emily laughs. "Father's people already did that. And, to be honest, Morgan ran you again when we started getting the menacing calls last week. I probably know more about you than you would have ever wanted."

Nora blushes. "Oh. Um, gee. Wow, I guess."

"So, I ask again, want to come in to meet your niece and nephew? And enjoy the second half of Aladdin?"

Nora smiles. "That, um, sounds pretty perfect, actually."

Emily steps aside so Nora can step in. The younger brunette takes in the foyer and the pictures on the walls. She smiles as she sees the various scenes of family fun.

"These are great."

"Thanks. All Jen's influence. The houses I grew up in were more…impersonal."

"That sucks."

"Yeah, it did. No place ever felt like home like this place has." They walk into the living room and Emily pauses the movies. "Hey, kids, want to meet your aunt?"

Henry studies the newcomer carefully. "What aunt?"

Emily chuckles. "This one, Champ." She puts her arm around Nora's shoulder. "This is your aunt Nora. Nora, this is Henry and Rocky."

"Hi," Rocky says, waving.

Nora smiles. "Hi, Rocky."

"Why we no meet before?" Henry asks skeptically.

Emily rolls her eyes. "Henry…"

Nora laughs. "It's okay." She looks at her nephew. "I lived really far away. But I recently came to this area for school and am finally getting to meet you. Is that okay?"

Henry studies her a minute. "I guess. Did you know my Daddy's an angel?"

Nora squats down to look him in the eyes. "Yes, I did. That makes me very sad. When I was your age I didn't have a dad either. It was tough."

"I gots his star at night. And his candle. Maybe you can gets a star and candle, too," Henry suggests innocently.

Nora just smiles. "I think that sounds like a great idea. I'll do both those things." She looks at Rocky. "So, do you think I could join you two to watch Aladdin? It's one of my favorite movies."

Rocky nods. "Um'kay."

Henry climbs back up on the couch and pats the cushion between him and his sister. "You sits here, Aunt Nora."

Nora smiles. "Thanks." She sits down and smiles up at Emily. "Um, am I stealing your seat?"

Emily shakes her head. "Nope. Looks like I need to get an extra juice and make a big bowl of popcorn. Right kids?"

"YEAH!" Henry cheers.

Rocky throws her arms in the air. "SCORE!"

Nora laughs and shakes her head. "Your kids are great, Emily."

Emily nods. "I definitely have to agree with that."

Emily runs the movie again then starts out of the room. She pauses and glances back as Henry starts to tell Nora all she has missed so far. Nora listens intently, giving her nephew her full attention. Emily walks on out.

Things are definitely looking up.

* * *

**A/N: So there ends this wild ride. Started to outline #71 and, well, that muse is fighting with another muse. See, the second muse has come up with an idea for Part 4 of the After the Fall series. Just what I need again: battling muses. Will be interesting to see which one wins. See y'all eventually with one or the other. :o)**


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